Housemate Wanted!
by kurisetaru
Summary: Her mother said, "When life is shaky, what must you do? Focus on your outcome". Young Signy is a small-town girl who moves to Blue Mountains to be Ori's understudy and becoming a scholar. Can she stays focused if her new housemate is the charming Dwarf prince, Kili? Kili/OC. Set in AU Blue Mountain, pre-AUJ. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1: Moving Out

**Author's Note: I own nothing except Signy, Rosamund and Amsterdam (my OCs). Pardon my limited vocabulary and grammatical mistakes because English is not my mother tongue! Here is a story for you Kili/OC shippers out there and it's set on my version of Blue Mountains (Ered Luin) as a very modern region… at least for Dwarves. Please R&R!**

**Chapter 1: Moving Out**

_Flashback, 30 years ago_

_Meet Signy. She was a 40-something Dwarf young girl with an appetite for knowledge. In her young years, she has read so many books, mostly about everything… but Dwarves were her main interest. Being a Dwarf and being raised in a Dwarven culture, she got really curious about what makes Dwarves… Dwarves. That is one hell of a trait, considering she was still a youngling._

"_Signy, come help your mother to prepare supper!" her father, Sigmund, called her while she was reading a book about Dwarf mythology under an oak tree on her front lawn. The weather was very nice as the sun started to set and the cold wind started to roll down to the village. _

"_Coming up, father!" young Signy jumped out from her seat and rushed back to the house. There, she could smell the tasty pork stew her mother was cooking. She ran to the kitchen. "Mother, what can I do?"_

"_Oh, you can reheat the bread, sweetheart," her mother said gently to her while stirring the pork stew. Signy took out a huge baguette, chopped them to a few parts, and started the fire to reheat them. Father liked his bread crispy and hot. _

"_What were you doing before your father called you?" asked her mother._

"_Just doing a light reading, ma," answered Signy without pulling off her eyes from the bread._

"_Your reading is never anything but heavy, darling," her mother chuckled. Signy laughed a bit. Her mother and father were not exactly the kind of Dwarf people who like to read because they were busy enough with their lives. With her father as the owner of The Singing Bard (the most famous inn in their village) and her mother being a housewife, they had no time to read books._

"_Mother, can I ask you something?"_

"_What is it, dear?" her mother turned her sight to young Signy._

"_Do you think I can be a scholar once I am old enough?"_

_Signy's mother smiled. "My darling, let me tell you one thing… You can be anything in the world if you put your mind and your eyes on it." She walked towards Signy, lowered her body, and patted Signy on her head. "Your eyes should be on the prize. Nothing can stop you. Don't let anything keep your focus out from your outcome. Later, you will find that life is filled by troubles. You will feel that your life is shaky. Even though you feel troubled by the shakiness, you should not give up. Instead, you should be more focused. That's the only way to reach your goal, whatever goal you want to do in life."_

"_I see, mother," young Signy kept her attention to her every words. Focus. Determined. Goal-minded. She could see herself, being a scholar in Ered Luin. Teaching young Dwarves about the importance of their culture. Shaping young minds. The thing that she had always wanted._

"_I will give you a short mantra which is very useful whenever you feel down and less focused in life," her mother continued her wise words. "Here is my mantra: 'When life is shaky, what must you do? Focus on my outcome'. Now, can you repeat after me?"_

"_When life is shaky, what must you do? Focus on my outcome," Signy repeated her mother's word over and over again. She felt the wise words started to seep into her brain, her bones, her soul. She knew that this was her life path, and she should move to Ered Luin once she got old enough. Just like what her mother had said, there was nothing impossible if you kept your eyes on the prize._

**Present Day Blue Mountains**

Seventy-seven year-old Signy could not believe her eyes. "_Is this really the Blue Mountain?_" she asked herself. She thought that Blue Mountain was a very tranquil city. In front of her eyes, she saw the Blue Mountain as a very populous and a very modern region. The buildings were about four to five stories high, made by stones and cobbles. The roads were broad and always filled by Dwarves riding their ponies. The layout of the city somehow reminded her of Dale, the closest city to the Lonely Mountain in its' glory days which she read in the books. Now Dale was nothing but a dead ruined town.

After waiting for what seemed to be a lifetime, finally Signy could move out from her small village to the Blue Mountain. She was now an adult Dwarf, enabling her to choose her own choices and she chose to leave her village to reach her childhood dream: to be a scholar in Dwarven culture. She was so fortunate because her parents supported her dream, they even supplied Signy enough foods and money for her solo journey to the Blue Mountain. It was nearly dark when Signy arrived at the gates of Blue Mountain and the city was just starting to live up. Several restaurants, cafes, general stores started to turn on the lights on their signages.

Signy reached her pocket and found a small piece of paper with the words "The Bagpipe Inn" written on it. Her father gave this paper to her prior to her journey and he told her to stay there while looking out for a permanent place to live. The Bagpipe Inn's owner was an old friend of her father's, a dark-haired Dwarf named Rowan, and he was already informed that Signy would spend a few days in his place. After a few minutes of walking around the main road, Signy could see The Bagpipe Inn signage from a medium-sized building at the end of the street. She walked in to the building and she could smell the aroma of ale and delicious foods. The bar was filled by Dwarves from every ages, socialising and hanging out. Everybody seemed to know everybody. Signy could hear loud music as well as loud chatterings.

"What can I do for you, lass?" a friendly voice suddenly greeted her once she walked in. "My beard, is it you, Signy?"

"Umm… yes… Are you Rowan?" Signy asked him cautiously. The short, thick-bearded Dwarf nodded and gave her a warm and friendly hug. "Yes, yes I am Rowan! Your old man's friend! Boy, it's been a while since I last saw you and your family… I don't know if you still remember but the last time I saw you, you're still a very small girl! Now you've turned into a headturner! How are your folks?"

"They're very well, and they send a warm greeting to you, Rowan," answered Signy happily. She had forgotten Rowan, but now she could remember him. Yes, it was a long time since she saw him the last time.

"How's the business of the inn? Going strong?"

"Well… as far as I can remember, our inn is still the most popular inn in the village," she grinned.

"Ah, that's a very good news! Now," Rowan shifted his attention to a number of keys being hung behind his station. He picked a key and turned himself back to Signy. "Here's your key to your room. Your room number is 108. Don't worry, your dad has informed me about you moving here and I have assured him that I will take care of you in any way that I can. Every morning, you can come down to the bar and grab yourself a handful of breakfast. We're closed for lunch, though, so you gotta find lunch somewhere else. Any questions?"

"Yes… Umm, how much is the room rate?" asked Signy politely.

Rowan shook his head. "No, no need! It has been taken care of. All you gotta do now is go to your room, have a relaxing hot bath and after that you can rest, or you can come down here to join the celebration. Well, we celebrate everyday, that's what bars are for, right?" he chuckled. Signy smiled warmly because she found Rowan was a pretty funny Dwarf. On a second thought, she thought that he was a little bit drunk because his face had gone red. "_He can't be drunk, maybe it's just the jolly music_", she thought.

"Thanks Rowan, for everything," Signy took the key from Rowan's hand and walked to the stairs. Her step stopped when Rowan shouted, "Hey Signy!"

She turned her back and asked Rowan, "What is it?" in a loud voice.

"I forget to tell you… welcome to the Blue Mountains!" Rowan shouted with a huge grin on his face. Signy smiled cheekily and continued walking to her room. It was located on the first floor, so she only needed to have a small walk from the bar to her room. It was easy to find, and luckily the bustling sound from the bar could not be heard from her room. She unlocked the room and was welcomed with a pleasant view.

It was not a huge room, but it was comfortable. In front of her laid a medium-sized oak bed. In the corner of the room, they placed a medium-sized cupboard and besides the cupboard, a desk facing the window. A small door was installed on the left side of the room which led to the bathroom. The bathroom was quite nice as well, perfectly fitted for a Dwarf. Signy assumed that this inn had two kinds of rooms: Dwarf-friendly rooms and Man/Elf-friendly rooms because Blue Mountain was also home to some Elves. Deep down in her heart she thanked Rowan for picking a Dwarf-friendly room for her.

She sat on her bed, it was very soft and a warm bed. She then unpacked and placed her clothes in the cupboard. Feeling very tired, she laid on her bed. "_What a long day,_" she thought. Slowly, she drifted away to sleep, with a hope of a great day ahead.


	2. Chapter 2: New Housemate Named Kili

**Author's Note: Wow, two chapters in a day! I guess I'm just an overly-imaginative girl ;) Anyway, I'm writing this chapter in the office. I'm planning to update the story about once or twice a week, depends on my mood and my schedule. But don't worry; I will continue this story to the end because I have written the basic plot so I won't get lost. As always, I only own my dear OCs because the whole wonderful Hobbit legendarium belongs to the only J.R.R. Tolkien. ****Keep those reviews coming****, I really appreciate them! You can also ask me questions regarding the fanfic in the review section below.**

**Chapter 2: New Housemate Named Kili**

It was already 8 AM when Signy woke up. Truth to be told, she was still tired because of the long journey and her body commanded her to go back to sleep, but the sun had already shone so bright and the shine was reflected through her window, forcing her to wake up. She pulled the blanket to her eye level whilst forcing her eyes to stay shut, but it was no use. Signy hated waking up when the sun was already high. Reluctantly, she forced herself to sit on the bed and looked at her surroundings. "Damn it," she realised that she did not pull the window curtain last night, that was why the sunlight could enter her room. She lazily stood up, walked to the window and pulled the window curtain.

She was now already alerted by the surroundings of her room. "_I'm already in the Blue Mountains and today I need to start looking for a house to live,_" she said to herself while walking to the bathroom and turning on the shower system. She decided to have a warm bath to relieve her aching body, again, thanks to the long journey.

While having a shower, she thought of her parents. It was just Day One but Signy had already missed them. She missed waking up to the smell of fried bacon and egg that her mother had always cooked for the whole family, and she also missed eating her breakfast whilst talking to her parents. Signy was the girl-next-door type who loved her family so much, even though she despised them in her teenage years, thanks to those bloody hormone development. She missed the warmth of her mother's hot chocolate, the people who worked at her father's inn, she missed everything about her village. However, she had always had a very quirky sense of adventure running through her blood. When she was a little girl, she lived by the adventure stories being told by her father as her bedtime stories. That was where she learned about Dwarf legends, about the creation of the Dwarves by the almighty Mahal, about the dangerous, fire-breathing dragon named Smaug who had swept off the Lonely Mountain, and many more. She always pictured herself as a female hero in most of her father's stories, and she had always wondered what it would feel if she embarked on a long journey far away from home.

It took her around fifteen minutes to finish her shower-slash-pondering session. After drying her petite body and her long auburn hair, she took out her clothes for the day and wore them: white camisole for the base top combined with dark-brown light-weight jacket, black pants, and her favourite dark brown combat boots. She loved wearing neutral colours. Black, brown, white and blue were her favourite colour tones for her apparel, and she hated neon colours, considering they were too bright and too inappropriate for most social activities. Feeling satisfied with how she looked for the day, she went back to the bathroom and combed her hair in front of the mirror. She tried to make a small braid on both of the sides of her head and she succeeded, ending the braids with the clasps she brought from home. Once she finished, she grabbed her daily rucksack, went out from her room, locked her room and went down to the bar, which had turned into a restaurant to cater breakfast.

Signy did not expect that the actual size of the restaurant would be that… small. Last night it seemed bigger for her. There were not many people in the restaurant, only a few Dwarves and Men whom she thought were travelers and stayed at the inn like her. They ate their breakfast discreetly. She took a seat on one of the bar stools.

"Morning, Signy," greeted Rowan who stood in front of her, acting as the server of the day. "Would you like some coffee? Tea? Or a fine ale in this sunny morning?" he grinned.

Signy scoffed. "Ale? In the morning? Are you kidding me, Rowan? And a good morning to you too. I'd like a cup hot tea, please."

"I'm not kidding! We Dwarves from the Blue Mountain like to drink our fine ale first thing in the morning, lass! I guess it's a different culture from where you come from… And would you like something to eat?"

"A plate of bacon and sunny side egg would be perfect, Rowan," answered Signy politely.

"Comin' right up!" Rowan stepped out of Signy's sight. She took the chance to walk around the restaurant whilst waiting for her food to be delivered. The restaurant was still very quiet. Either business in The Bagpipe Inn was not very good lately, or the occupants of the inn were still asleep. An Elf lady was seen eating her toast in a delicate manner, and a male Dwarf was reading a book while sipping on his hot coffee. Rowan walked to a board near the front door which was filled by papers.

"Here you go, Signy, bacon and egg and a cup of hot tea. I added some toasts too, as a complimentary," Rowan's voice could be heard from the bar. Signy smelled the wonderful aroma of bacon and egg, her favourite breakfast food, from across the room. She walked to her stool happily. Who could resist the delicious smell of perfect artisan breakfast food? At least, not for her!

"Wow, thanks, Rowan! These toasts smell awesome as well. Oh, by the way, what's up with the board there, near the front door?" Signy turned her back and pointed at the board.

"That's an announcement board. You practically can find anything there, from job vacancies, upcoming events, product advertisements… hey, speaking of which, people also post wanted stuffs such as wanted jobs, things for sale or things to buy, even they post advertisements for spare rooms! In fact, you can start your search for people looking for housemates! That's the first thing you want to do, right?" Rowan squealed enthusiastically.

Signy's pupils dilated as she heard the words 'looking for housemates'. "Holy Mahal, really? Wow, I can definitely take your suggestion! In fact, today I'm gonna start seeking out for spare rooms. I've never thought that I can start my search from here!" She finished her breakfast in a blink of an eye, and the next thing Rowan knew, she leapt out from her stool to the announcement board.

"Job vacancy: head chef wanted… Midsummer's Eve city party… Oh, here they are, some people looking for housemates. I think I'm gonna write them all," Signy said to herself while reading the advertisements being posted very meticulously. After a few minutes, she had gathered some advertisements about rooms for rent and people looking for housemates. She waved goodbye to Rowan (who was busy refilling coffee and tea to the customers) and walked out of the inn.

oAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoA

It was noon, and Signy's search for a room had not turned out to be quite lucky. Yes, she found some rooms for rent, but they did not expect her expectations. Most of them were small, damp rooms with no windows. Not to mention the people who were looking for housemates. Most of them were rude. "_How can they find people who are interested to be their housemates_ _if they can't be good to them? They will run away just by looking at their faces!_" thought Signy in disgust. Exhausted and desperately looking for a drink, she went back to the inn.

The restaurant was closed, as what Rowan had said to her last night, but Signy did not care any less. She went inside the restaurant and quickly sat on one of the chairs closest to her reach. She was so tired and thinking of taking a short nap, but first she needed some water. "Rowan," said Signy as he approached her, "I know the pub is closed on the afternoon, but can I have some water? I am too thirsty and today's scorching heat is going to kill me if I don't drink soon."

Rowan chuckled as he heard Signy's whining. "Don't exaggerate, lass!" he laughed. "It's summer, what kind of weather would you expect it to be? Hold on, I'm getting you a glass of cold water," he shouted as he ran to the kitchen. A few moments later, he brought a tall glass of water to Signy.

"Thanks," said Signy and she directly took a big gulp. Man, her throat felt very fresh afterwards. "So, how's the room-hunting going? Find any luck?" Rowan sat on a chair besides Signy, expecting her to talk.

"No luck today," Signy sighed desperately. "Most of the rooms which were advertised were very damp and small. I can't live in a place like that! Oh, and don't get me started on the people who are looking for housemates. They are practically pain in the rear, if you know what I mean. Ugh, I'm sure they will have a hard time seeking for housemates if they keep their attitude." She scoffed, remembering them.

Rowan chuckled. "Awwww, don't be so sad, lass! Our announcement board is refreshed daily! In fact, a few minutes before you came back, there was one lad who posted something on that board! I didn't know what he was posting, though; I was just peeking on him through the kitchen window. You might want to check it out."

Signy was very tired. But she knew she had to keep searching for that perfect house with a nice housemate. "Thanks for the heads up, Rowan. I'm just gonna empty this glass and I will check the board soon." After that, Rowan left his seat and went back to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Signy decided that she would look at the announcement board once more. Who knew what the guy posted, right? She walked hurriedly to the board and searched for a new paper, something that was not there when she read the board in the morning. Within a few seconds, she already found the advertisement that the guy posted. And this time, she smiled again. Another hope came to her heart.

_Housemate Wanted!_

_Room for rent in a humble 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house. I am Kili, the only tenant in the house, a male 70-something Dwarf. I am looking for a female/male Dwarf/Elf/Men, age varies from 70 to 90, to share rent and interests with. Your room is clean with a huge window overlooking the cosy neighbourhood of Durin Avenue. Minutes away to Blue Mountains' city centre. Rent: 300 pennies/month, minimum contract 3 months._

_Address: 70 Durin Avenue_

_I am only available on weekdays, 3 PM to 6 PM. Come straightly to my house, no reservations needed!_

Signy turned her head to the wall clock at the inn. It was 1 PM. She would take a short nap, and left the inn to Kili's house at precisely 2.45 PM. Hopefully she would make it in time, and hopefully this would be the perfect house for her.

oAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoA

At 2.45 PM, Signy went out from the inn. Rowan was preparing to open the bar later the night, and he wished all the luck to her. It only took about 15 minutes from The Bagpipe Inn to reach Durin Avenue. Once she stepped to the broad street, she was amazed.

The street was like the showcase of the house for the riches. Beautiful houses lined up the street, each houses with different architecture styles. She was very shocked to see such a posh neighbourhood like this to exist in Blue Mountains. "_Am I being punked? There's no way a Dwarf guy looking for a housemate in this kind of neighbourhood!_" she whispered to herself.

A few minutes later (and after a few jaw-dropping, eye-gawking houses), she found the house she was looking for. It was, indeed, humble. Just like what the advertisement had offered. The house was probably the smallest among the houses of Durin Avenue. It had no specific architecture style, just a simple house made out of terracotta bricks. It had a huge front yard, though.

She knocked the front door. No answer. She knocked at it again, and turned her back. A few moments later, she heard the door being opened from inside, with a deep voice asking her "Hi, may I help you?" She turned her back, and she practically saw the most handsome Dwarf she had ever seen in her life. "_Holy Mahal, he's so beautiful!_" she squealed in her heart. The Dwarf was a taller guy (she thought he was taller than any Dwarf man she had ever encountered) with a shoulder-length curly jet black hair. He did not have a thick beard, something very common in Dwarf men, he had a mysterious stubble instead. He was wearing a black pants, black combat boots with dark green tunic.

"Y… yes… I am responding to your advertisement which you posted on the board of The Bagpipe Inn?" she answered with a questioning tone. "Are you Kili?"

"Wow! Didn't imagine I would get a potential housemate that soon! Yes, I'm Kili, and you are?" Kili gestured to shake her hand. She shook his hand fast because she was very nervous. "I'm Signy."

"Hi Signy, nice to meet you! Oh, do come in, please!" Kili went inside the house, followed by Signy. She expected the house to be a messy, alpha-male kind of house, but her expectation was wrong. The house was very warm and the interior was very nice as well.

"Come on, let's talk in the kitchen. I rarely use living room, it's too formal for me," Kili guided her to the kitchen, which was situated in the end of the house. It was a nice, clean and comfortable kitchen. From what Signy could see, Kili had a modern kitchen-slash-dining room because there lied a huge wooden table as well as some chairs. "So, what brings you here?" he asked casually while Signy sat on one of the chairs. "By the way, do you want some cold ale? It's really hot outside, you know."

"Yeah, a glass of ale would be fine," she responded politely, while still gawking at the simplicity of the house. She loved it. She had not seen the rest of the house, but so far she had loved every single second of it. A few moments later, Kili came up with two glasses of ale, and he handed her one glass as he sat on a chair facing her.

"Umm… I'm a newcomer in Blue Mountains. I just got here yesterday and now I'm staying in The Bagpipe Inn," Signy answered Kili's question.

"Wow, that's very cool! Where did you come from?"

"A small village near Bree. It's a Dwarf village."

"Wow, you're far away from home, girl…" Signy nodded. "Yeah, you can say so." He chuckled.

"Got any jobs?"

"Not yet, but I'm planning to be Ori's understudy. I want to be a scholar," she said in a shy tone. "Don't laugh."

Kili smiled. "I won't! Being a scholar is a very good job. I'm not that much of a student, though… always flunked out in any subject I took when I was still in school. But I'm great in battles, especially in archery and sword-fight. And I also happen to know Ori, in fact… he was my teacher," he said with a huge grin on his face.

"Really?" Signy responded enthusiastically. "That's very awesome!" She finished her glass of ale in one gulp, considering she was very thirsty and it was very hot outside. "Kili, why don't you show me the rest of the house? It's so beautiful. I would love to see the rest of it."

"Be my guest!" they both stood up. "You've seen the living room, right? It was the one that we passed earlier. Now I'm going to show you the bathroom, and the spare room that I'm renting, and we're going to finish at the front lawn. How's that sound?"

"That sounds perfect," Signy smiled at him and he guided her to the bathroom. It was a quite large bathroom, with a bathtub, a shower and a toilet seat. It was heavily scented too, making the bathroom felt very homy and comfortable. Next stop was Kili's room. It was a big room with a very messy interior. On his bed lied his collection of bows and arrows. Piles of dirty clothing scattered all around the floor. Signy laughed when she walked inside his room.

"Kili, your room is so messy! How can you live with this?" asked Signy when she walked around Kili's room. Kili chuckled and hand-combed his hair in a cool manner, and said, "I live with messiness, girl. Deal with it. At least, I'm not making another room messy, right? Now, let's continue to the spare room, I bet it will look much more cleaner than this."

Signy scoffed. "Alright, where's the room?" Kili pointed to a door facing over his. "There's the room. Come on, I'm gonna show you," he walked in front of Signy and opened the door. When Signy looked at it, she was very sure. This was the perfect room for her. A spacious room with a huge bed overlooking a giant window. A small desk, a cupboard, and a bookshelf. Bookshelf! She suddenly had a thought to fill the bookshelf with her favourite books and she could not wait for that time to come. The room was very clean with the right space for her.

Kili could see that Signy liked the room very much. He let Signy walked around the room for awhile, just making her some time to make up her mind. He really thought that Signy could be the perfect housemate because she was very sincere and fun enough to talk to.

"Done?" Kili asked her when she walked towards him. She put on a contented smile and responded, "It's so beautiful. I love it. So, when can I move in?"

Kili was over the moon. Finally, someone to share the rent with! However, he tried so hard not to show his happiness. He was the cool Dwarf, everybody knew that. "Uhm… you can move in anytime. You remember the rent, right? By the way, you should pay me the first month's rent by the time you move in."

Signy laughed. "Don't worry about it, big guy. I have the money and I will pay the rent to you once I move in. What about next Monday? Today's Friday, right? Give me some time to pack my stuffs and I will come here on Monday, first thing in the morning." She lied. Actually she did not need two whole days to pack her things. She could move to her new house on Saturday, but she did not want to seem too eager. She wanted to keep her cool, because she wanted Kili to see her calm, contented and logical side.

Kili nodded. "Seems like we're on the same page, then. Welcome aboard, _housemate_," and he offered her a hand. She shook Kili's hand with a huge grin on her face. It was a lucky day indeed.

**There you go, the second chapter! I'm sorry if this chapter is too long for some of you, I just need to write more about Signy's journey to find a house. Finally she finds one, and she has to be the housemate of Kili, yay! Thanks for the favourites and the reviews, please keep them coming! See you later with the third chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Awkward Girl

**Author's Note: Here we go, chapter three! I'm not going to babble too many words here, just… enjoy the chapter! Hint hint: there will be a slight fluff on this chapter ;) Don't forget to R&R, and if you like what you're seeing, the follow/favourite button is always there for you to click on. Toodles!**

**Chapter 3: The Awkward Girl**

_Flashback, 10 years ago_

_60-year-old teen Signy had always been known in the village as a shy and timid girl. Spending most of her free time with books, she did not have many friends. Her only friend was a girl next door named Rhiannon. She was a pale-skinned, curly-haired Dwarf teen with a huge sense of humour and a very outgoing personality. A total 180 flip from what Signy usually was. They often spent their free time under Signy's favourite oak tree._

_One sunny afternoon, they were hanging out together under the oak tree. "Say, Signy, have you fancied someone lately?"_

_Signy nearly dropped the book she was reading. "Huh? Excuse me?"_

_Rhiannon answered her in a very playful tone, "Don't pretend that you're not listening! I was asking you if you have fancied someone lately."_

_Signy automatically shook her head. "Nah, and I don't want to waste my time on the whole boy-crushing thing."_

"_Oh, come on!" Rhiannon punched her best friend slightly on the upper arm. "There must be someone you like! What about Atticus?"_

_Signy looked at Rhiannon with a puzzled look, and then she burst out laughing. "Seriously, Rhi? That's the only guy you can even think of? He has so many clasps from his girlfriends! Are you trying to imply that I'm going to like that filthy playboy? No, I am not planning to have a boyfriend or a crush. Not now, and not in the near future. I've got an ambition to catch, don't you remember that?"_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah. You want to be a scholar. Everybody in this village has known it. Come on, Sig, loosen up. We're teenagers. We're supposed to have fun and experience our first love, not burying our noses under thick and heavy books!" Rhiannon tried to put an argument with Signy._

"_Yeah, and I'm not your so-called teenagers. I have chosen to chase my ambition to become a scholar instead of goofing around and experience first love," Signy answered her best friend with a grim tone. She hated when people insisted her to be an ordinary teen. She wanted to be an unordinary one, the one who was so focused on her study and her goal. No one could ever set her eyes off the prize._

"_Suit yourself," Rhiannon sighed whilst standing up._

"_Where are you going?" asked Signy._

"_It's nearly supper, and I have to help my folks. See you tomorrow, Signy."_

oAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoA

**Present-day Blue Mountains**

"Hey sleepyhead, wake up!" she could hear her door being knocked and someone with a deep, manly voice trying to wake her. "_Oh, shit, it's the super hot Kili_", she muttered in her sleep.

"Yes, I'm awake, I'm awake," Signy answered Kili lazily.

It's been three days since Signy moved to Kili's house. So far, he was a very great housemate. He did not snoop on Signy's business, he was a good cook, and every morning he always gave Signy a great, if not horrifying sight, to see: him being naked with only a sheet of towel to cover what was supposed to be covered. Signy had found it very amusing, yet annoying at the same time. She was not usual to such sight. Her eyes felt burning every time she went out from her room, only to see Kili covered with towel casually making breakfast in the kitchen.

"Good morning," Kili greeted her as she walked out from her bedroom. She felt her eyes suddenly burning to see Kili covered with towel, again.

"Yeah, morning," Signy answered whilst trying not to focus on him.

"I made you bacon and eggs," Kili said coolly, pointing to a plate filled with three slices of bacon and a sunny-side up. "Gotta be in a good mood for your first class with Ori, right!"

Suddenly Signy remembered. It was going to be her first encounter with Ori, her favourite scholar. The day she had been waiting for since her childhood. Finally, she was one step closer to reach her dream. "How come you remember? I completely forget all about it!"

Kili put on a smug smile. "I'm famous for remembering things clearly, you know," he sat down on the chair, sipping his morning ale. She sat down on a chair beside him and began eating her breakfast. "Anyway, what are your plans for today?"

Kili shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know… Maybe I'm going to Thorin's Gate with you, to practise my archery skills. What time do you finish? Maybe we can grab some dinner in a local restaurant downtown. I don't feel like cooking dinner tonight."

Signy smiled. "That sounds great. I will finish my lessons at 6 PM, tops. We'll see each other in the front yard of Thorin's Gate, then."

oAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoA

Signy felt her stomach grumbled. It was the nervousness that went to her. She was walking along the road towards Thorin's Gate, and she suddenly stopped. "Kili… I… I can't do this."

"What do you mean 'you can't'?" Kili stopped too, looking at her with a puzzled look.

"I… I'm not good enough for this. What if I'm the stupidest? What if I can't fit in? What if I can't keep up with the lessons? Oh, Kili, I don't think I'm ready… Do you think I should just go home? I feel sick." Signy felt very worried. Her stomach kept on grumbling, as if she ate bad food for breakfast.

Kili suddenly held her arm and swift her position so she stood facing him. This made Signy felt more nervous. Kili stepped closer to her, and his sharp eyes stared at hers for a long time. "_Holy shit, what am I going to do? Enough, Kili, you're killing me with that look!_" she tried to fight in her mind, but she just couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Look, Signy," said Kili, still maintaining his position and his sight at her, "I know we've only known each other for three days, but… But I have faith in you. For three days, you have shown me that you're a strong-willed and focused girl, and nothing can ever bring you down. This feeling that you're feeling right now," he touched her on the stomach, making her shivered, "is just a slight nervousness. It's normal, I feel that too. Everybody feels it. You can do this, Signy. If you walk away, I assure you… you will regret that decision for the rest of your life."

Signy responded with a tiny voice, "What if I can't keep up?"

Kili answered her with a soft smile. "You can. I believe that you can." He now let go of her arms, and now he held her hand, their fingers entangled with each other. Signy could feel a rush of warmth from his hand; it felt like the warmth was transferred to her heart and her brain. "Let's go. You'll be late for your first lesson."

About ten minutes later, they arrived in front of Thorin's Gate. It was a huge palace where the Dwarf King, Thorin Oakenshield, resided. The castle was very enormous, beautiful, made out of cobbles. The front yard was filled by summer flowers, making the castle looked very shiny, bright and happy. Besides being the residence of Thorin Oakenshield, the halls and rooms in Thorin's palace were also used for academic purposes, especially for Dwarves who were interested to be scholars. There were many Dwarf scholars who served Blue Mountains to teach other people, and Ori was only one of them.

"Ori's office is on the third floor. It's directly across the stairs, you won't miss it. I'll meet you here at 6 PM," said Kili. Signy nodded in response. Then, out of the blue, Kili hugged her. "_Holy Mahal what the heck is going on? Today he cooked me breakfast, then he held my hand all the way from home to Thorin's Gate, now he is hugging me! Focus, Signy, focus!_" Signy was panicked, but she could not do anything. She was just standing there like a fool, being hugged by her housemate whom she only knew for three days.

"Errrr… you can let go now," Signy said awkwardly. "Oh, yeah… sorry. It was just a good luck hug," Kili reluctantly released his arms from her body and smiled awkwardly. She could see Kili's face was reddened.

"I'd better get going, I don't want to be late," Signy awkwardly walked to the castle. She could only hope that today's awkwardness would not last until the evening, when they would have a dinner together downtown.

oAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoA

It was not that hard to find Ori's office-slash-class. Just like what Kili had said, it was located on the third floor, directly across the staircase. Once she walked in, she saw about five students were staring at her blatantly.

"Good morning," greeted Signy nervously. She could see Ori was sitting on the teacher's desk, looking at her. "Are you… Signy?" he asked her politely. Signy nodded.

"Welcome to my class, Dwarven culture," Ori stood up and shook her hand. "Everyone, this is Signy and she will be your classmate on Dwarven culture. Signy, meet your classmates: Aelian, Mercer, Savarin, Vero and Rosamund."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir – " Signy was just going to tell Ori that she had been a fan of his writing but Ori suddenly cut her words, "Don't 'sir' me, I'm not really used to that word… Just call me Ori." He smiled at the end. She smiled back and she was told to find a seat. She sat down besides the blonde-haired and beautiful Dwarf young woman, whom she recognised as Rosamund.

"I haven't seen you around. Where do you come from?" Rosamund asked Signy. She sensed a snobbish tone in her question.

"Uh… I'm not originally from Blue Mountains… I'm from a small Dwarf village near Bree," she answered Rosamund with a faint smile.

"Oh, I see," that was her only reply and she continued paying attention to Ori. "Class, listen up. Today we are going to study about the origins of the Dwarves. As you may have known, we were created by Mahal, who created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, where all Dwarves were descended and they slowly turned into clans of seven. Now, can anyone mention the seven clans of the Dwarves?"

Signy automatically raised her hand. She was not trying to search for attention, but she felt that she knew the answer. If she knew the answer, why should she pretend not to know it? "Yes, Signy?"

"Umm… They are Longbeards, Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, and Stonefoots. Longbears were originally from Gundabad, Firebeards and Broadbeams from Nogrod and Belegost, Ironfists and Stiffbeards from Orocarni on the Far East, and Blacklocks and Stonefoots were from Orocarni." The words just slurred out from her mouth, just like that. This was the original story about the creation of Dwarves and the original clans of Dwarves, a material that Signy remembered by heart.

Ori smiled. "That is correct. Now, we are going to continue to the eighth clan of Dwarves, known as Petty-Dwarves…"

Signy was pulling out her notebook and her quill from her bag, when she heard Rosamund speaking to her, "First day and you're already showing off your skill… what's your hidden agenda, anyway?"

"Huh? No… nothing… I'm just here, studying to be a scholar…" she felt a certain feeling she had been afraid to feel: intimidation.

"Oh yeah, trust me, anyone who steps into Thorin's Gate will say the same word: I want to be a scholar," she continued with a mocking tone, "Just wait and see. You won't last staying here for a year." And then she put on a very evil grin and turned back to her notebook.

Signy felt like she wanted to burst in anger and confusion at the same time. She had just sat there for less than thirty minutes and now someone had disliked her because she answered Ori's question perfectly? She thought that just existed in her teenage years… and now she felt the same emotion she often felt during her unstable years: fear. She was afraid. She had always been afraid. Afraid to leave home, afraid to face her enemies at school, afraid to do something for the first time. Her world only revolved in books and studying. Now when there was an evil girl trying to put her focus away from the prize, she could not do anything, just standing like a complete fool who could not defend herself. She felt so stupid.

oAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoAoA

"What took you so long?" Signy had stand in front of Thorin's Gate for fifteen minutes when Kili finally showed up. He looked very tired and exhausted. Meanwhile, the rest of the day was not really good for Signy. After that slight comment Rosamund gave her in the beginning of the lesson, she felt a massive drop on her confidence level, thus making her unable to answer more questions and participate well in group discussion. Much to her dismay, Rosamund took over. She answered every question Ori gave to the class, and she led most of the class discussions perfectly.

"Sorry, I lost track of time," Kili whimpered, giving Signy an 'I'm-sorry-for-being-late' type of puppy smile that Signy could not resist. "Alright, whatever," she forced to smile back.

"What's going on? You look… grumpy," Kili asked in a quizzical tone. "Let me guess… rough first day at class?" they walked together to the city centre. The sun still shone very bright, accompanied with a slight breeze.

"You can say so, and I don't want to talk about it now… at least until we get to the restaurant. What do you have in mind? I'm so hungry I can eat a pack of Orcs," said Signy, holding her stomach.

"Whoa, hold your horses, young lady," Kili chuckled. "You can eat your emotions once we get to the restaurant. There's a restaurant named The Compass in the city centre and its' mashed potatoes is to die for. You'll see what I mean. Come on, we'd better hurry, or else we won't get any seats," he took Signy's hand and ran downhill. "_Getting too comfortable on me, huh, Kili?_" she muttered to herself once she felt her hand being held by him as he forced her to follow his running pace.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the city centre. It was very lively, with huge signboards being placed in front of general stores, restaurants, inns and pubs, all of them with bright neon lights. Kili, still holding her hand, took the lead. The city centre was jam-packed by Men, Elves and Dwarves alike.

"Where's this restaurant?" asked Signy half-shouting, because the sidewalk was very crowded.

"It's on the corner of the street. The restaurant is pretty small, and they don't have fancy neon lights on their signboard, so you gotta focus," answered Kili, not taking his sights away from the signboards surrounding them. A few moments later they arrived in front of a small building. "Here it is," he said whilst opening the door for her.

Kili was right, it was a small restaurant but it was jam-packed on the inside. Signy nearly could not find any seats when suddenly Kili shouted at her, "Go sit at the corner, that's my usual spot," and she could see that there were two seats left on the corner of the room. She walked fast to their seats and secured the spot, followed by Kili.

"Finally!" Signy whimpered after sitting down. Kili chuckled. "You look so red, are you tired? Sorry for all the commotion, but I promise you; you won't regret eating here. Here, let me order. Odin!" Kili shouted at one of the servers. One of them walked to their seats and greeted, "Hey, Kili! How's it going?"

"Doing fine here, Odin. I'm going to order two sirloin steaks with the famous mashed potato as the side dish. For me and this young lady here," Kili pointed to Signy. Signy smiled at Odin. "We'd like to have a full pitcher of ale, please."

"Coming right up!" Odin left Signy and Kili. Once Odin left them, Kili straightly asked Signy, "So… what happened? Care to share?"

"First day was a bummer, Kili. There's this girl in the class who doesn't seem to like me. She thinks I'm taking her spotlight. Come to think of it, she is such a drama queen."

Kili chuckled. "Let me guess… Her name starts with R and ends with D. Rosamund, right?"

Signy's eyes bulged. "How do you know her?"

"She and I go long way back. We were childhood friends, but suddenly during the teenage years she got caught up with the whole teenage drama shit, and I was still the fun-loving, playing-all-the-time Kili… Long story short, one day she confessed that she liked me. I rejected her because I didn't feel any slight hint of feelings for her. From that time, she keeps on chasing me and begging for me to like her back. I don't really like that girl. Snobby and snotty, she is. What did she do to you?" Kili asked Signy casually. No hint of embarrassment came from his face or his voice tone.

"Ori asked the class a question and I answered him perfectly. Suddenly she said that I wouldn't even last a year. What the heck does that even mean?" Signy shook her head in disbelief.

Kili smiled and laughed. "She's jealous of you." Their conversation was slightly paused when Odin came to their table to bring two empty glasses and a jar full of ale. After saying thanks, Kili poured the ale to his and Signy's glass.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean by that, Signy. Rosamund has always been the top of the class, the valedictorian, the class superstar… whatever you name her. No one has ever become her competition in anything. She is an over-achiever and a very dedicated person. Now that you come to her picture, she feels intrigued. She feels scared that you might take her number one spot someday." He drank his ale.

Signy shook her head again, trying to swallow every last bit of Kili's information about Rosamund on her head. She could not believe that she was dealing with a fellow over-achiever. The only difference was that Rosamund was very ambitious, while Signy kept her ambition to herself. She took her glass of ale and drank it.

"So, what are you going to do?" asked Kili.

"Huh? I don't understand," Signy answered. She showed Kili a confused look.

"Oh, come on, Signy, I can't believe you can be this naïve," Kili responded in disbelief. "You should show her that she's facing her first competitor! All of her life she has been gotten used into being number one with no competitors. You can turn her life upside down! You have to fight, Signy, so you can't be bullied by her anymore! Where's the spirit?"

Before Signy could answer, Kili held her hand on the table. She was shocked and she automatically let go. "Uhh… you have touched me so many times today, I feel uncomfortable," she said.

"Sorry, I guess I've gotten used to the sight of you," Kili blushed and turned away. One second later, he regained his focus back, saying "Uhhhh… I'm really sorry. Bottom line, you have to fight. You have to show her that you don't come to the Blue Mountains to replace her as being the smartest, but you have to show her that you have qualities in yourself. Come on."

It took a while for Signy to swallow Kili's words. She felt that he had a point. She came to the Blue Mountains to study, not to seek for attention. If Rosamund thought that she was her competitor, so be it. It didn't change her ambition to be a scholar, after all.

Signy smiled to Kili and said, "Alright. If Rosamund wants a competitor, I give her one."

**That's it! Another chapter of 'Housemate Wanted!'. I hope you really enjoy reading it, and I'm very sorry if I have limited vocabulary or wrong grammar because English is not my first language. Keep an eye for another chapter, I swear the next one will be super good :3**


	4. Chapter 4: My Housemate, a Dwarf Prince?

**Author's Note: I wanna say thanks to TheMaddieArchives and thenerdist2000 who gave me comments and reviews! Thank you so much, guys! Now, I present you the fourth chapter. I try so hard to update the story as fast as I can, so please bear with me! Don't forget to R&R, and if you think this story is interesting enough, you can hit the favourite or the follow button. As always, I only own my dearest OCs!**

**Chapter 4: My Housemate, a Dwarf Prince?**

It had been two weeks since Signy attended her first Dwarven culture class with Ori as her mentor. During the whole two weeks, she did nothing but studying. Her days and nights were always filled by never-ending visits to the city library, late-night studying, or making essays on the weekend. She rarely had a slight chance to catch up with Kili, her housemate. Kili seemed to be busy as well. Even though everyday he came home at 6, but he always went out afterwards. Signy did not really pay attention to where he went because she always drown her nose on her books.

It was just another ordinary day. Signy woke up in the morning; however she felt a slight soreness on her throat. She touched her forehead. It was burning hot. "_Crap, not today, please don't be sick today!_" she forced herself to wake up because she did not want to miss Ori's class. She had an important presentation that day and she did not want to mess it up by being absent. What would her classmate think? Especially, what would Rosamund think if she was absent on her presentation day? She might have labeled her as a coward.

Signy forced herself to walk towards her bedroom door to go to the kitchen. As usual, Kili was her first sight in the morning. However, that day was a little different. He was already dressed with some kind of a hunting suit. He already had his bow and his bag of arrow clutched whilst making breakfast.

"Good morning," Kili greeted Signy with a warm smile.

Signy smiled back. "To you too," she walked to the kitchen as she saw what he was cooking. Toast bread with honey jam. No wonder it smelled very nice. "Where are you going?"

"A hunting trip with Blue Mountains Hunting Society," he answered coolly. The next moment, he gazed on Signy's face. And then he said, "Are you… sick? Feeling unwell?"

"Uh… I feel a slight soreness on my throat, actually. How do you know?" she gasped.

"Your eyes don't shine as much as it used to. It's just a wild hunch. My mother said that the eyes were the windows to the soul, so I guess if someone is sick, it can be seen through their eyes. Looks like she was right," he answered. Was that a slight hint of concern in his tone? "Here, let me check your body temperature," he said as he put his left palm on Signy's forehead.

"Whoa, Signy, you have a fever!" he gasped in shock. "No, you can't go to Ori's lesson today."

"But I have an important presentation and I've been working on it for two weeks!" Signy pleaded. Kili sounded like her dad. She always remembered how her dad forbade her to go to school when she felt sick. On the other hand, she felt that being absent from school was a waste of time.

"Your presentation can wait. What if you fainted? No one will be able to help you. Plus, I won't be here for the day, so no one will look after you if you fainted in Thorin's Gate, right?" Kili answered with an authoritative voice.

Signy looked down at the kitchen tile. She muttered, "You're right…" and she looked back at Kili. "Maybe I should skip the class today."

Kili smiled. "That's what I'm talking about." The next moment, he guided Signy back to her room. "Go back to bed," he said.

"I'm not sleepy anymore. At least please let me eat that delicious toast you made before you make me go to bed."

Kili sighed before saying, "Alright. Let's go back to the kitchen. Eat your toasts, and then you should go back to bed. Am I making myself clear?" Signy had no choice but to nod in agony. This was the reason why she hated being sick. In her village, she got her father, a very protective man whenever his daughter got sick. And now in Blue Mountains she got Kili, who was nearly the same as her father in dealing with sick people. They walked back to the kitchen.

"So… when will you be back?" asked Signy whilst eating her toasts. She suddenly felt like not eating, however she kept that to herself and pretended to enjoy Kili's toast breads. She was sure that the toasts were delicious, if only she was not sick. She felt a huge amount of pain whenever she swallowed the bread. "Ouch… It hurts. I hate sore throat. I can't eat well," she complained to herself.

"Tomorrow morning," Kili answered. "Do you want me to cook you porridge instead?"

Signy shook her head. "No need, I'm going to eat these and then I will go straight to bed. You're right, I should take a rest. Maybe this is the way my body tells me to take it slow. I realise that my sleeping cycle has turned shitty since two weeks ago." She forced another swallow.

"I was worried, you know… you being very busy for two weeks in a row. I didn't even see you eat," responded Kili with a worrying tone. "_What? He worries about me?_" asked Signy in her heart.

She tried to avoid eye contact with Kili as she replied him, "I ate… You just didn't see it. You were busy yourself… I didn't see you quite often hanging around the house."

"At least I took care of my body," Kili scoffed. "I got stuck between meetings with Blue Mountains Hunting Society. Today will be our first hunting in the summer, and they want me to be the project leader." Signy did not answer. She had experienced a lot of pain by swallowing her food, and it seemed like talking gave her throat more pain.

She ate her breakfast in silence and Kili watched her all the time. Truth to be told, he liked his daily morning view: sleepy-faced Signy walking out from her bedroom. He found her quite cute with her long fuzzy uncombed auburn hair, her sleepy eyes, and her being in pajamas. She looked like a little kid, and Kili wanted nothing but to hug that little kid who woke up every morning with that same sleepy face.

A few moments later, Signy finished eating. "I'm done," she said, still looking sleepy. Kili went back to earth from his imagination. "Now you can go back to bed. I think I have some fever and sore throat medicine around here, I will put them on your desk before I leave. I will also ask for someone to take care of you while I'm gone," he hurried her to go back to her room.

"Who might that be?" Signy asked in curiosity. "_Kili has a brother? Now that's a new fact,_" she added her newly-acquired information to her brain.

"My older brother, Fili. You will acknowledge him, even though you guys have never met before. He has this thick, fuzzy and braided ginger hair with braided mustache. We don't even look alike," he grinned. Signy could do nothing but grinned back. She realised how much she liked Kili's signature puppy-eyed face when he grinned. His grin was very contagious.

*A*A*A*

There was a knock on the door. Signy looked at her watch, it was only 8 PM. Who was that? Was that Kili? He told her he would not be back until tomorrow morning, and it was not even the end of the day yet. She walked to the front door with much anticipation, and opened the front door slowly.

She sighed in contentment. It was Kili. He looked tired, his clothes were covered in dirt, and he panted for air. "Kili, what's going on? I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow!"

"I… I forget something…" Kili answered, still panting. Signy moved her body, allowed Kili to come in. "Forget what? Such a careless guy, realising he forget something once he's been out for the whole day!" she was going to continue her words when she felt a warm body pushed her to the wall and a warm kiss went to her lips.

"I forget to do that before leaving the house," Kili stopped kissing Signy for a while, grinned, and kissed her again. She felt instant warmth beginning to rush all over her body. She decided to kiss him back, slowly. This was her first kiss, and somehow she felt it to be perfect. Even though Kili was covered in dirt, and even though it did not look as romantic as she saw in plays.

Kili bit her lips playfully. She groaned a bit and resumed kissing him. Now, she did not feel as stiff as before. "Here, let me get you comfortable," he sustained her weight as she tried to raise her legs to lock his waist. "That's better," she replied faintly. She felt more warmth as she felt his stubbles on her chin. She slowly put her hands on his shoulder.

They moved very slow as they felt like they owned the time. Kili stopped kissing her as he looked at her with a very intense stare. And then he played with her hair, trying to make messy little braids. "You know what? I have been longing to do this since the day you first set your feet on this house."

"Really?" she put on a shy smile. Kili nodded. "I have nothing else to say," Signy responded whilst looking back at him, keeping her cool so that he would not get lost in those dark eyes of his. She trailed small pecks on his stubble, making him groaned.

Suddenly, Signy felt her sight blurred. One second later she opened her eyes. Her first sight was the ceiling, and that was when she realised she just had a very strange yet warm-hearted dream. Strange, because she had never seen Kili that way, however she still felt the same warmth that occurred in her dream. She forced herself to sit on her bed and was kinda surprised to see a guy sitting on a chair besides her bed. He was a slightly older guy than Kili, he had this messy, shoulder-length ginger hair with braid clasps. He also braided his mustache.

"Fili?" she asked him to assure that he was really Kili's brother. He nodded.

"Hi there, I'm Fili," he grinned as they shook hands. Signy noted that Fili had a slightly similar grin to Kili. "Kili told me to take care of you when he's away for the day. Are you feeling better?"

Signy looked at the clock. It was 2 PM. She had been sleeping for more than four hours. She felt her stomach rumbling. "Slightly better, though I still have fever, I think." She made a faint smile as saying, "Thank you for coming. Sorry to bother you."

"No problem, lass!" Fili chuckled. "I watched you when you were sleeping. It was a very peaceful sleep, wasn't it?"

"Uh… yeah," Signy lied. There was no way she could tell Kili's brother that she just had a very interesting-slash-weird dream on her slumber. She pointed at a bowl on her desk. "Is that my lunch?"

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot," Fili replied as he stood from his seat and grabbed the bowl on the desk. "This is chicken broth porridge. You should eat this whilst it's still warm. After this you can take your medicine, I have them." He handed her the porridge bowl and she directly ate it. She was terribly hungry, thank Mahal the chicken broth porridge was very delicious.

A few minutes later, Signy finished eating. She handed the empty bowl to Fili, as he put the bowl back on the desk and exchanged it for a pill and a glass of water. "Here, drink this," said Fili as he handed Signy the pill and the glass. Signy obliged. She then placed the glass on the nightstand next to her bed.

"I just knew Kili has a brother," she opened the conversation while cozying on her bed.

"Guess he never mentions me that much, huh?" Fili chuckled as he touched his chin. Signy laughed, and she shook her head. "In fact, I just knew a guy named Fili about six hours ago. If you don't live with Kili, then… where do you live?"

"Thorin's Gate," answered Fili simply.

Signy gave him a confused look. "Huh? But I thought it was only designed for Thorin Oakenshield to live there."

Fili laughed as he saw how clueless the girl was. "Well… I stay there because I need to study about the government and the politics of the Dwarves. You see, Kili and I are Thorin Oakenshield's nephews… and I am the next in line for the throne."

Signy bawled her eyes out. "SERIOUSLY? You're saying that… that I'm living with a Dwarf prince?" That was the last thing ever came to her mind. For nearly a month, she had been living with a Dwarf prince and she had never done anything courteous to him!

Now it was Fili's turn to give her an awkward look. "What? Don't tell me that this is the first time you hear Kili is a prince…"

Signy nodded.

"For Durin's sake," said Fili in amusement. "You didn't see the signs? How people all over Blue Mountains respect him? How he always gets everything this city can offer?"

Signy's mind wandered for a bit, trying to remember if she had ever seen Kili being treated so special. "Well… there's this one time in The Compass. You know that small restaurant with the greatest mashed potato, right? One day he treated me for dinner, and once we got there it was very crowded, like you-can't-even-wiggle-yourself kind of crowded… However, there were two empty chairs and a table… Kili said that was his usual spot to eat."

Fili listened to Signy attentively. "Yes, I know The Compass. In fact, it is uncle Thorin's favourite dinner place. I think it's not a surprise if the owner saves a seat for Thorin and his family, including Kili. Now you understand, don't you?" Signy nodded, her eyes were empty. It was shocking, indeed.

"How come Kili has never told me about him being a royalty before?" asked Signy after some moments of silence between her and Fili.

Fili thought for the answer. "Hmm… It's the usual Kili, I think. I know my brother so well. He never wants to use his royalty status to befriend people or to get what he wants. He thinks that in order to get loyal friends, he should never brag about his family history, how he's actually one of Durin's sons. Yeah, I think that's the reason. I hope that can answer your question," he explained, giving Signy a sincere smile. Signy could not help to smile back. Deep down in her heart, she felt so lucky to have a humble housemate.

*A*A*A*

The next day, Signy felt a lot better. After a full day of resting, she felt like she could wake up from her bed in the next morning. She touched her forehead slightly and smiled because the fever had gone. Her throat had gone better as well. Fili had left the house the night before, nearly at midnight. He demanded to stay until Signy went to bed. She could do nothing but to let him did what he wanted. It was Saturday so there was no class, and Signy could relax in the house.

She woke up, changed her clothes, and went out from the room only to find that she was still alone. No signs of Kili. She walked to Kili's room, trying to open the door, but it was locked. Realising she was still the only person in the house, she decided to brew herself a nice cup of hot chamomile tea. She walked to the kitchen to brew the hot water when she heard a knock on the door.

She felt her hands suddenly became cold as she walked to the front door. Who might that be? Kili? Fili? Or someone else? If it was Kili, she prayed so hard to Mahal that her dream yesterday would not come true. "Yes, one second," she shouted nervously as she tried to unlock the door.

She opened the front door. It was Kili. He was sweaty, his clothes were covered in mud and dirt, and he looked terribly exhausted. Signy hoped that his first words would not be "I forget something," words that he said in her dream.

Kili rushed in once the door was opened. He threw himself on the couch on the living room. "Holy Mahal, I miss soft bed," he muttered. Signy sighed contently, knowing her dream would not come true.

"Hey, you're very dirty, get off from the couch!" she shooed Kili. "Just a sec, Signy, I'm so tired. I've never thought that hunting would be very tiring. Maybe I'm not used to it anymore. I used to love hunting, you know?" he answered lazily as he stood up.

"I was just about to brew chamomile tea. Do you want some?" offered Signy. Kili nodded. "Yes, but I gotta take a shower. I'll be right back, okay?" He stumbled to his bedroom, unlocked the door and walked in. A moment later, he went out from his bedroom, bringing fresh, clean clothes and his towel.

A few minutes later, Kili went out from the bathroom with white tunic shirt and khaki shorts. He looked very fresh, clean and very handsome, as always. His hair was already combed. He took a seat next to Signy and started to sip his cup of chamomile tea.

"Ahhhhh… this is very refreshing. Thanks, Signy. Are you feeling better?"

Signy smiled as she nodded. "I feel a lot better today. Fili was a great company yesterday. He took well care of me. Anyway, how was the hunting session?"

Kili scoffed in disgust. "Meh, I personally feel that it was a waste of time. First, the people who actually joined the hunting were smaller than the ones who signed up. Second, we did not get any decent animals. Just little hares and some deers, where's the fun of that? I feel like I should just stay at home and accompany you while you're sick."

Signy blushed. She tried to look somewhere else so that Kili could not see her reddened cheeks. "Uh… anyway… Fili told me about you." She looked at Kili again.

"What do you mean?"

"He told me about you being Durin's sons," she replied.

"Oh, that," Kili scratched his head, definitely looking uneasy. "See… it's not like I wanna hide it from you, you know."

"Yeah, I know it, Fili told me too. He said you don't like to use your title to make friends with people," said Signy, her eyes wandered. "I could have taken it coolly if you say it in the first place, you know."

"I'm sorry," were the words that came out from Kili's mouth.

"Why saying sorry?" asked Signy.

"Ummm… for lying to you? Actually it's not lying, but it's more like… not really opening up about me to you?" Kili's voice seemed to ask for correction.

Signy laughed a little. "You don't have to think it's something bad, Kili. I understand… you don't like to use your family name to get the things you want, be it wealth, job, or friends. I like that about you."

Kili bawled his eyes. "Really?" he smiled with a slight blush on his face. Signy nodded in enthusiasm, her eyes telling Kili that it was okay and he did not have to see it as a mistake, and then she took a sip of her tea.

There was a moment of silence between them. Signy felt like she finally knew a larger piece of Kili's life. Kili felt blessed to have a new friend who did not care about his family history, and the fact that he was one of the sons of Durin. Suddenly something appeared in Kili's mind: a brilliant idea to know Signy better.

"Signy, now that you know a larger part of me, why don't you let me know more about you? I know we're housemates, but I feel like I don't know you at all, except your origin," he said in a usual manner, his fingers played the end of his tunic.

Signy turned her gaze to Kili. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well… In two weeks, Blue Mountains will hold an annual Midsummer's Eve party. I'm just wondering… do you want to go to the party with me?" asked Kili slowly. He tried to find other proper words to ask someone to go on a party with him, but he could not. So those words were his best.

Signy could feel instant warmth filling her face, her skull, her neck. "_Is this like when someone asks you out on a date?_" she thought. "Errrr… Yeah, it will be alright, I suppose. Umm, this is not a date,right? Do I really have to dress up for the party?" she asked nervously.

Kili chuckled. "No, it's not a date. At least I know you don't want it to be one. I'm just asking you out as a friend. We need to have more bonding time, because we're housemates, right? Housemates are supposed to know stuffs about each other and to take care of each other. How can we take care of each other if we don't know each other well? Speaking of which, you don't have to really dress up for the party… it'll be just like a casual meet-up party among the people of Blue Mountains. Dwarves, Men and Elves will gather together in peace," he explained.

Signy could do nothing but to smile. She was very happy. She knew this was not a date, but somehow the idea of getting to know Kili better made her felt like she was special enough. She thought he had a point. She had been very exclusive for years, not to mention she did not have enough friends, and now Kili simply offered himself to be her friend. What would be better than that?

*A*A*A*

**That's it, guys… the fourth chapter! Sure we'll be waiting for what will happen during the Midsummer's Eve, right? But… hold your horses! I've got another interesting chapter to write later! Thanks for reading my fanfic!**


	5. Chapter 5: Insecurity

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs (Signy, Rosamund, Amsterdam, and other minor characters). Kili, Fili, Ori and other The Hobbit-related characters belong to the only J.R.R. Tolkien.**

**Chapter 5: Insecurity**

Two weeks after Signy got sick, she could feel that her relationship with Kili went better. They spent more time together, inside or outside the house. They began to explore each other's likes and dislikes. For example, Signy found out Kili's favourite food (which was baked beans with omelette), and Kili began to dive deeper into Signy's personality. Albeit her being very timid and introvert, he personally thought that she was a cool person to hang out with, and he loved her for not being judgemental with his opinions about everything. She might have a few comments, but none of them offended him personally. Signy felt the same thing. For her, Kili might be very agile, sometimes he could be annoying for being too loud and too childish, and he was very cheerful, types of people she rarely hung out with. However, she thought that he was the most sincere and the friendliest person she had ever met in her entire life.

That morning, Signy decided to make Kili his favourite food, since she thought that baked beans and omelette would be the perfect breakfast food for them. She woke up, combed her hair, washed her face from a basin full of fresh water, and walked outside her room. She expected to see Kili covered in his towel, hanging out by the kitchen's table. However, it was an unexpected morning because she encountered a very unexpected guest.

Rosamund was the one sitting on the kitchen table's chair, the chair she usually sat on. She was gorgeous as usual, her long hair braided into small parts, her rosy cheeks complemented her pale skin, and her blue navy blouse made her blue eyes seemed bigger and more charming. She put on a smug smile upon seeing Signy, who was looking at her dumbfoundedly.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't the village girl. Hey, you know what, Sig? I thought you were a hobo, because I never knew where you lived," she greeted Signy sarcastically. Signy scoffed when she heard Rosamund called her 'Sig', because she hated that nickname for all of her life.

"Hi there Rosamund," Signy greeted her back, a cold smile lingered on her face. "Perhaps you haven't heard a wise word saying 'if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all', have you?" Signy added coldly whilst walking towards the kitchen. She intended to prepare her special breakfast for Kili, and she did not want Rosamund's appearance to ruin her mood. "What on earth are you doing here?" she asked her with an investigative tone, her hands reaching the upper cupboard to find some fresh eggs Kili had bought yesterday.

"Nothing much, I just want to hang out with Kili. We are old friends, if you haven't noticed. Today we're going shopping," Rosamund answered, putting an evil grin on her face. "Midsummer's Eve party is going to be held in four days and I wanna look my best. Fortunately, Kili accepted to accompany me to find the perfect dress for the party."

Signy could feel her blood slowly boiling. Her cheek went red with anger. "_I guess Kili asked me to go with him to the Midsummer's Eve party, but why does he accept Rosamund's request to accompany her going dress-shopping? Shit, Kili, you're one fine ladies man,_" she muttered to herself. She tried to balance her breath as she tried to stay calm. "Oh, really? That's… that's a nice plan," Signy replied bluntly, not wanting to face Rosamund because she still felt her cheeks reddened. "_Shit, Signy, stick to yourself! Say to this little bitch that you're going with him to the party and if there's a girl who asks him to go on a dress-shopping, it should be you!_" Signy wanted to tell Rosamund that she was going with Kili to the party, but as she tried to speak, she felt her tongue tied. She could not defend herself at all.

"That's surely a damn nice plan, Sig," said Rosamund, pride could be detected from her voice. Before Signy could replied another word, she heard Kili's door opened and she turned her face on him. He was already dressed with a light brown tunic, black pants and brown shoes. "Hi, Kili! Fancy a breakfast? I'm making baked beans and omelette!" Signy greeted Kili with a warm smile on her face.

Kili smiled back at her apologetically. "Hi Signy, I'm sorry but can we skip it for today? I have promised Rosamund to go downtown with her to find her a dress. I'll make it up for you tomorrow morning, okay?" Signy was left speechless. She could not believe it. Kili turned his face to Rosamund and asked, "Hey Rosamund. Let's go, shall we?"

Rosamund stood up from the chair, grinning ear to ear. "Come on!" She walked towards Kili and grabbed his hand. Signy was the only spectator of that hurting view, and she could do nothing but just stared at them. Rosamund showed an arrogant-looking-but-delighted face, whilst Kili… Signy could see his shocked face when Rosamund jointed her fingers with his. He casted an "I'm-sorry" look at Signy, which Signy could not reply instantly. In the end, she watched Rosamund and Kili walked to the front door. She tried to hide her anger which had nearly turned into tears, as they disappeared from her sight.

oOoOoOoOo

"_Pull yourself together, Signy! You can't let Kili ruin your emotion, your mood, your day, everything! You were a tough, focused, determined girl… where have those traits go? You can't let your day be ruined by a guy and his snotty friend…_" Signy walked back and forth in her room, trying to normalise her feeling and her breathing. After Kili closed the door, she could not handle her tears anymore. She cried silently in the kitchen. She felt sad, angry, and moreover… she felt stupid, because she felt like being played by Kili.

She sat down on her bed, feeling a lot better since she had finished crying. She realised she should not bury her feelings too deep, because she would explode once someone pulled the trigger. Just like that day. Rosamund and Kili pulled the trigger, and suddenly… BOOM, she exploded like an atomic bomb. However, she exploded and blamed it to herself, because she was afraid to show her feelings to other people. She walked weakly to the bathroom and faced the mirror which was hung in front of the bathroom sink. She wiped her eyes from excess tears, and she looked at herself.

That big brown eyes. That fair skin complexion. That long, bushy auburn hair. That strong jawline. That slightly parted chin. That thick eyebrows. That thin lips. She studied her face features meticulously. That was when she realised that she was pretty. She suddenly found a little spark in her eyes. She touched her hair, and she realised how smooth her hair was, although it was bushy and a little bit messy. She touched her cheek, and she could see that she had the same rosy cheeks like Rosamund's, making her face looked healthy than other girls. She smiled, and then she deeply realised the fact that she was beautiful, she was still the same focused girl as she used to be, and there was no way someone could steer her focus, her goals, and her mood for the day. Not anyone ever. A few seconds later, an idea popped into her head.

"_If Rosamund can go shopping, why can't I? After all, someone used to say that shopping is a good therapy for sad and miserable girls. I guess I'm sad, and miserable… for now._"

oOoOoOoOo

The city centre of Blue Mountains was always crowded, including on hot summer days. Signy wiggled among the crowd, trying to get some space to walk. She could hear sellers promoting bread loaves, fresh fishes and fresh vegetables from their stalls. She could see posters about Midsummer's Eve party being glued in numerous spots and on every empty walls. Many stores scattered along the road, each with their own specialties. General stores, apothecaries, restaurants… Signy's eyes suddenly felt attracted to a building with the signpost 'Blue Mountains Hair and Beauty Parlour' in front of her. She felt like she could really use a hair treatment. She walked enthusiastically, crossing the street, towards the beauty parlour.

The beauty parlour was not too crowded. A few women were sitting comfortably on chairs facing mirrors, looking very relaxed. They were having different treatments. A young teen was having her haircut, an older Dwarf woman was seen having a pedicure. Signy was startled when a woman greeted her, "Welcome to Blue Mountains Hair and Beauty Parlour! What kind of treatment do you wish to enjoy today?" The woman was very clean and stylish, wearing burning red pants and golden blouse. She had pointy ears, her straightened, braidless long hair really stood out.

"I'd like to have a my hair trimmed, please," Signy answered her politely.

"Alright, and may I offer you a special treatment? You see, we are the first salon in the whole Blue Mountains who succeeded to patent hair-colouring technology, and we'd like to colour your hair for free!"

Signy's eyes bawled out once she heard 'hair-colouring'. Yes, she loved her auburn hair, however she felt like she wanted to change her hair colour. Back in her village, she had always dreamed to have a silky, chestnut brown hair, something that she could only dream of. Now she was offered a complimentary hair-colouring session, why should she resist? "You mean… I can change my hair colour to whatever colour I wish for?" she asked the woman back in excitement. The woman nodded and said, "Perfect! This is the first technology being used in Blue Mountains, just so you know. Our hair colouring products are super safe, since we have tested them on trustworthy subjects. Don't you worry! Now, let's find a place for you to sit down and relax, shall we?" She guided Signy to an empty chair, facing a mirror.

"My name is Naj and I am going to be your hairdresser for today. What's yours?" she asked Signy, still putting a sincere smile, her hands starting to work on Signy's hair.

"Signy."

"That's a beautiful name! Now, what kind of hairstyle do you want?" Naj offered her a large book, filled with Dwarven women in many hairstyles. Some of them were traditional, long-haired hairstyles, some of them were hairstyles with more edgy twists on them. Signy opted for a simple, shoulder-length layered hair, which Naj responded as "That's a great choice, it fits your face shape!"

After that, Naj started to work her magic. Signy meticulously watched her performance from the mirror. Naj asked her some questions, such as her job, her thoughts on Blue Mountains (Signy told her that she came from other village), and many other common things. A few minutes later, Naj told Signy that she had done with the haircut, and she would get the hair colour catalogue. Signy looked at her reflection from the mirror and smiled. Naj was right, the layered cut looked perfect on her.

"Here's the hair colour catalogue," said Naj as she offered Signy another big book. Signy opened it and she was shocked to see that this beauty parlour offered many hair colour options, from shades of black, brown, copper, auburn, to extreme colours such as deep blue, fuschia, mint green, and snow white. "I'm going to go with chestnut brown, that is my favourite hair colour," Signy said as she closed the book and smiled to Naj.

"Alright, wait a second!" Naj said as she rushed to the back of the parlour. A few minutes later, Naj went back to Signy, bringing a small bowl which contains a thick liquid. "Now, just relax. You may want to sleep because most people find this hair-colouring thing very relaxing," she said. Signy smiled and she began to enjoy Naj colouring her auburn hair. A few moments later, she went to sleep.

She woke up by a gentle tap on her shoulder. She opened her eyes. Naj said, "Come on Signy, let's wash your hair." Naj guided her to a hair-washing station. After having her hair washed for a few minutes, they went back to Signy's chair and Naj started to blow dry Signy's hair with a machine that produced hot air.

A few moments later, Naj said with a smile, "Enjoy your new look, Signy." She could not believe her eyes. She looked very… different. Her long, messy auburn hair had changed with a sleeker, cleaner, chestnut brown hair. She smiled contentedly. Signy stood up, paid Naj, and walked out from the parlour with a huge smile on her face.

"What's next?" she said to herself as she walked past shops and restaurants. She soon realised that she need to look for a new dress and a new pair of shoes. She did not want to wear her casual blouse and her favourite brown combat boots to the party. Being a new person, she felt for a change. She walked and walked and walked when suddenly her eyes got caught with a small store named 'The Consignment'. It was a consignment store, where people sold things they no longer use. Signy thought that perhaps she could find her perfect dress in the store.

Once she entered the store, she could see a very beautiful dress. It was a buttoned down, knee-length yellow dress. She walked towards it, and she touched it. The material was silk, and she could picture herself wearing the dress to the party with Kili by her side. Checking the dress size, she was quite shocked to find out that the size was exactly hers. Like it was meant to be. She eyed the whole room, and she suddenly saw a bright short-heeled white shoes. As she walked closer, she saw that the shoes had several gold streaks on it. She suddenly fell in love. She quickly brought the dress and the shoes to the cashier and took out a few pennies from her purse. Once the dress and the shoes had been packed, she quickly left the store with a sigh of relief. It was time to go home and relax for the rest of the day.

oOoOoOoOo

It was nearly 7 PM when Kili came back to the house. Signy was reading a novel on the living room when she saw him walked past her. "How's Rosamund?" she asked, trying to make a cheery voice as she followed him.

"Ugh, such a pain in the ass," he complained. His eyes looked bored and he looked tired. He went to the kitchen, took a bottle of ale and poured it on a crystal glass.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Signy asked him with a confused look.

"You know Rosamund, right? That spoiled, drama queen brat. I didn't know why I accepted her request in the first place. Once we got to the city centre, she quickly dragged me to a store where they only sell the most expensive dresses, and holy Mahal, she spent hours in that store. I was very tired and bored. Not to mention, at lunch she started to be a crybaby. Asking me tons of times why I didn't ask her as my mate to go to the party."

"Wait – she doesn't know that we're going together?" Signy asked Kili with a more confused look.

"Of course not! Why should I tell her that? I simply said that I can't be her date because I have promised to go to the party with someone else, that's it. She didn't even ask who the lucky girl was," he scoffed, drinking more ale.

Signy could feel her blush once Kili mentioned something about 'the lucky girl'. She was going to reply Kili when suddenly Kili grabbed her hand and said, "Signy… I'm sorry."

"For what? Now you're making me worried, you know," she tried to make a joke, which was a total opposite to what her heart was feeling.

"For not asking you to go dress-shopping," answered Kili, his face looked down.

"_Ha! If only he knew that I went shopping today!_" Signy could not help to laugh. "That's fine, Kili! Besides… I'm not the type who likes to shop. I think I have enough decent clothes to wear, I even have a perfect outfit for the party, I believe…" she glared playfully at him.

"Yeah, but still…" Then suddenly Signy felt like doing something to him. She suddenly gave him a warming hug. It was very unplanned, very sudden, but Signy could not help it. She did not want Kili to feel sorry. "That's fine, Kili. I'm telling you the truth. Next time, if I feel like going shopping, you're going to be the first person whom I will ask to accompany me. Deal?" she said as she released her hug from him.

He stared at Signy and smiled. Suddenly he reached Signy's hair and said, "I see you had a haircut and you dyed your hair," he smiled as he played with Signy's hair.

"Yeah… I just feel like doing it… I'm so glad now that I have chestnut brown hair, the thought of colouring your hair really excites me. Blue Mountains surely has everything, huh?" she tried to conceal her blush and her embarassment, grinning at her statement. "What do you think?"

"You wanna know what I think?" Kili whispered as he repositioned his seat so that he could sit closer to her. Signy could feel his warm breath, his natural smell and she felt like melting as she got aware that Kili's face had gone really close to hers. She gulped and nodded, suddenly feeling terrified.

He went closer, his lips passed Signy's cheek, and he whispered on Signy's left ear, "I think you are very beautiful, either with your old auburn hair or your brand new chestnut brown hair." After that, he grabbed his glass of ale, and walked past Signy to his room. Leaving Signy holding her breath, her cheeks reddened. That familiar warmth came back.

"_He told me I'm beautiful? Why am I feeling butterflies? What's going on with me? Why do I have the urge to smile – hey, I'm smiling ear to ear! Oh, dear Mahal… what's happening? Why am I feeling the same warmth?_" Signy was puzzled. She walked to her room whilst trying to swallow what just happened.

Meanwhile, on Kili's room, he sighed once he laid down on his bed. "Finally," he said to himself, slowly drifting into a peaceful sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: I Feel Badly

**Author's Note: Hi guys! In this chapter of 'Housemate Wanted', I decide to do something different: I'm gonna put some songs as the background music! Considering this will be a chapter that will cover about what happens in Midsummer's Eve party, we need music… am I right? Thus I come up with the idea to make this chapter as a semi songfic for you guys. I have listened to plenty of songs this week, and somehow I get two songs that have stucked in my head for the past 2 weeks which are Twin Forks' 'Back to You' and the rendition of 'If I Didn't Care' by Amy Adams and Lee Pace (yessss, that sexy Thranduil sure can sing). You can search the songs in Youtube or Spotify to enhance your reading experience. In the end, I just wanna thank you for your endless support by reviewing, reading, favoriting and following this fic! For those who haven't, pleaaaase R&R so I know how you guys are feeling about the fanfiction!**

**I only own my OCs. The rest of them belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.**

**Chapter 6: I Feel Badly**

Signy had been pacing back and forth in her room all day long. It was the day she had been waiting for; the Midsummer's Eve party. All night long, she could not sleep because she was worried and scared about mostly everything. What if the dress did not fit her body? What if Kili laughed at her dress? What if she tripped on his shoes when they danced? What if she embarrassed herself by doing something stupid in the party? A plethora of fears went straight to her head, causing her to fall asleep at dawn. Two hours later, Kili knocked on her bedroom door, which was his usual habit to wake her up. However, she decided to ignore him and continued her slumber because she felt a massive headache when she tried to wake up from Kili's knocking. Now that she had been fully awoke, her worrying went back to her, resulting her not gone out from her room for five hours.

"Signy, are you alright?" she heard Kili knocked on her door for the second time. "It's lunch time and I already cook some foods," he continued.

"Yes, I'm coming," she replied weakly and forced herself to walk to her door and opened it. In front of her stood Kili, bringing a tray with a plate of fried vegetables and mashed potato. "Good afternoon," he said. He grinned afterwards. Signy casted a lazy grin back at him. "Are those for me?" she asked, pointing to the tray.

Kili nodded. "Yeah. I feel like cooking some vegetables. Are you hungry?"

"Umm… sorta," Signy took the tray from Kili's hands and walked to the kitchen, followed by Kili. They sat on their usual chairs and Signy began eating. Kili watched her, and suddenly he opened a conversation. "So… what are you going to wear for the party tonight?"

Signy nearly choked upon hearing his question. "I have one in mind. It's a secret, though," she tried to put a playful tone on her answer, to hide her nervousness. "How about you?" she tried to change the course of the conversation.

"If you don't tell yours, I won't tell mine!" he said as he playfully punched her upper arm gently whilst laughing. Signy laughed back at Kili's answer and resumed her eating.

A few moments later, Kili broke the silence again by asking Signy a very uncomfortable question, "Signy, I wonder… Have you ever had a boyfriend before?" he lowered his voice. There was a hint of asking for permission in his tone.

Signy stopped eating. She suddenly remembered her teenage years. How she desperately tried to avoid boys, not because she was not pretty enough, but because of her ambition. She had always had a mindset that boys were one of her distractions to reach her dreams, resulting in her being a virgin in love. She looked at Kili and Kili added, "You don't have to answer that one, though. I'm sorry for asking."

"No, no, that's fine," Signy put her plate aside as she had finished eating. "I haven't got one. Why are you asking, though?"

"Just being curious. I mean… sure there's one guy or more that had a crush on you in the past. You're…" Kili stopped his sentence for a second to find a proper word, "Awesome. Yeah, you're awesome."

Signy looked at Kili and she laughed half-heartedly. "I'm not sure if there had been even ONE boy who looked at me differently. I was a bookworm, and I will always be. Back in my old village, I didn't really like to make friends with other people. My only friend was Rhiannon, who was my neighbour. She was the girl who loved to interact with people, and she was pretty as well. A lot of boys chased her, but she did not want to settle for less. She was really picky. Me? I wasn't picky at all, the boys just didn't pick me. That's it." She stood up, grabbed her dirty plate, put it on the kitchen sink, and sat on her place again. "How about you? Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she asked Kili the same question.

Kili looked at her. It was an uneasy look. "Uh… I'm just like you," he answered and she could see him blushing. He scratched the back of his head as he smiled sheepishly.

Signy bawled her eyes out. "NO SHIT. YOU'RE LYING!" she shouted in disbelief as she punched him on the upper arm. "Kili, one of Durin's sons, haven't had any girlfriend? Come on, I've told you the truth, please don't lie to me!"

Kili grinned and answered her, "No, why should I lie about that thing? Even though I'm Durin's son, doesn't mean I'm the guy that all the girls want. Fili is. And actually I'm cool with that," he shrugged his shoulder.

Signy could not ask him anything except one question, "Why?"

Kili shrugged his shoulders again as he replied, "I don't know. Maybe I'm just not as handsome as Fili. Dwarven women like Dwarves who have thick or long beard, you know. Like uncle Thorin. Perhaps our culture is different than yours. Me? I don't have thick beard, I only have this stubble and this girly fringe. Thus, they consider me not as attractive as other Dwarves with humongous beard. Probably the only Dwarf woman who has ever liked me is Rosamund. The problem is, I don't like her back."

"If the stubble is the reason, why don't just grow them?"

"I don't want to change myself to someone I don't want to be," he said proudly. "I don't like living with thick beard. They need high maintenance. You have to trim them at least once a month and that's not cheap, I'm telling ya! I'm much more comfortable with the stubble. After all, I'm sure someday there will be a Dwarf girl who loves me for who I am. Probably she will love me because of my stubble," he casted a very childish, dreamy grin. Signy could not help not to smile upon hearing Kili's hope. "_What a guy,_" she thought.

oOoOoOoOo

"Signy, are you ready?" she could hear Kili shouting from outside her door. After lunch, they went back to their rooms, preparing themselves for the party. Signy decided to take a short nap before taking a bath. In fact, she fell asleep for two hours. She woke up by the sound of Kili banging on her door, reminding that she needed to get ready for the party. She jumped from her bed, took her towels, opened her door and ran to the bathroom. There, she made the quickest bath she had ever made since she stayed in Blue Mountains.

"Yes, just a second!" Signy shouted back. She wore the yellow dress she bought a few days ago, put on her white short-heeled shoes, and dried her hair whilst combing it. Once she was done, she ran to her desk, where she kept her beauty apparels (or at least what she had managed to bring to Blue Mountains). She had never used them since her first day in the city because she liked her face to be as natural as it could be. Now, she felt grateful that she brought the apparels with her. She put on a small amount of translucent powder on her face and put on some natural-coloured lip tint on her lips, ended up by spraying some cologne to her neck and her hands. She took a second look at the mirror, telling herself that she was ready, and opened her door.

Kili was sitting on the kitchen's chair when she walked out of the room. He saw her and his eyes bawled out. He stood up and looked at her in disbelief. "Hi," Signy smiled shyly. "Please, don't look at me like that," she added. She was quite smitten by how Kili looked, but she decided not to show it. He wore his best pair of pants and robes. His hair was combed perfectly, and that 'girly fringe' was still there. He looked ten times more handsome in those outfits according to Signy's eyes. She could feel her heart beating twice faster than before.

"Wow," was the only word that Kili could say. He could not believe that the plain Signy could dress up for a party. Not to mention that she looked beautiful. Kili soon realised that he had been gawking over Signy for a long time and then he said, "Sorry. It's just… you… wow."

"Come on, don't waste more time. Let's go," she walked to Kili as she held his hand and walked outside the house. She did not realise what she was doing. Kili felt his face blushed as Signy's fingers intertwined with his. They walked out of the house hand in hand and closed the front door.

They walked together to the city centre. It was really crowded, and the people in Durin Avenue were out from their houses with their best clothes, walking the same way as Signy and Kili. Most of the Dwarf women wore their best jewelleries with glowing robes, and so did the Dwarf men. They walked very gracefully. A few minutes later, Signy and Kili arrived at the city centre. It was already filled by people from all over Blue Mountains.

"The party is held in every avenues of Blue Mountains, but we like to go to the city centre because it has the best view, the best music, the best foods, and the best fireworks," she gasped as Kili whispered at her left ear. She could feel Kili's warm breath. She just nodded to respond him. In front of them, lied a huge stage with many musical instruments. She could see that the musical performers were just getting ready. She could see numerous round tables on the right and the left side. Behind those tables, there lied plenty of tables filled with foods and numerous barrels of ale.

"Come on, let's find a seat!" Kili grabbed her hand and searched for someone. A few minutes later, Signy could feel her being pulled by Kili to a table. "Hey, brother!" he greeted Fili who was already sitting on one of the chairs. They got the front tables. "Hi, uncle!" Signy saw Kili greeted an older man with huge body and a very thick beard. Signy took a mental note to address that he was the mighty Thorin Oakenshield.

"Hi there, Kili," Thorin stood up and hugged him. "Who is this fine lass?" he pointed his head to Signy and asked him with a gentle tone.

"This is Signy, she is my housemate," Kili grinned. Signy shook hands with him as she said, "Really pleased to meet you, Mister Oakenshield. Or should I say 'Your Majesty'?"

Thorin shook his head. "I may be the King under the Mountain, but not this mountain, for sure! Mister Oakenshield or Mister Thorin is just fine, Signy. Come, we have saved you a seat!" Signy and Kili sat on the spare seats which were facing the stage, directly beside Fili.

Just as they sat down, a thin Dwarf with a decorative beard came up on the stage. People were cheering loudly. She could see Dwarves, Men and Elves gathered together on this night. There were no boundaries whatsoever, just plain good fun with friends and family.

"Ladies and gentlemen, beloved Dwarves, Men and Elves, welcome to our annual Midsummer's Eve party! Tonight, fun will be spreaded all over Blue Mountain as we celebrate the summer! Wherever you go tonight, you will find several party spots on every big avenues in the whole city! For those of you who don't know who I am," the crowd laughed, "My name is Bofur and I will be your host as well as one of your performers on this lovely evening. As always, your happiness tonight will be accompanied by Blue Mountains Official Ensemble, led by yours truly and my awesome co-leader, Trina!" Bofur presented his ensemble band and his fellow singer, a charming Dwarf lady named Trina. They wore the same emerald green robes with an emblem being sewn on the left side of their robes. "Now, what are you waiting for? Let's dance, drink, eat, chat, and be merry!" By the end of his speech, the band started playing an upbeat song. Loud chatters began to fill the air, and people started queuing for foods.

"Do you want something to eat?" Kili leaned his body and shouted to her.

"Yes, please," Signy replied. "Just pick anything you're eating." Kili left her. Thorin already left his seat, and she saw he was chatting with a Man.

"So, Signy, how's my little brother?" said Fili as he scooted over her.

"He's fine," she answered bluntly and smiled.

"Oh, come on, you know that's not what I'm talking about," Fili replied as he winked his eyes. "I mean, how's _my _little brother to you?"

Signy could feel her cheeks blushed. "What do you mean?" she asked him in a defensive voice.

"You're just like him!" Fili laughed as he returned back to his seat because Kili had come back with two plates on his hands. "Here's your food," said Kili, handing over Signy's plate to her.

Signy simply muttered a 'Thanks' because she was too busy thinking over what Fili had said to her. What did he mean by Kili was just like me? What common things did they had? Signy decided to cast her thoughts aside because she wanted to have fun. Plus, the food Kili brought to her looked really tempting. Three pieces of seasoned sausages, a handful of mashed potatoes, fried vegetables, and a bowl of beef stew. Signy tasted the beef stew, and it was very delicious! She started to enjoy her meal, whilst sometimes asking Kili and Fili about the Midsummer's Eve history and customs.

As she finished her meal and drinking her glass of ale, suddenly her stomach jumped as she heard her favourite song being played by the band on the stage. It was her favourite song when she was in her village because the song was very upbeat and she loved the banjo sound which was the signature sound of the song. She quickly finished her ale and ran to the dancing area and started dancing alone among many people who seemed to enjoy the song as much as she did.

"_I was young so I forgot_

_Which was my place and which was not_

_Thought I had a good shot_

_I took it right in my eye."_

She danced happily and carefreely. The fact that it was her favourite song back in her village somehow made a longing feeling, but it was quickly erased by how happy the song sounded. From his seat, Kili was astounded to see Signy dancing, so free, so genuine, so loose. He realised he had never seen that part of her, ever. He saw her glowing. Her hair seemed like flying with the wind. She had this look of happiness and pure joy on her face.

"_Look ahead, look behind_

_Take another I don't mind_

_I… oh… I… oh…."_

Signy ran out from the dancing area to Kili's seat and she grabbed his arm. "Come on, dance with me!" she laughed as she kept pulling his arm.

"I… I don't! Wow, Signy, you're on fire tonight! Is that because of the ale?" Kili rejected and he tried to pull a joke on her. She laughed.

"No, silly! This is my favourite song! Come on, join me!" She glared to Fili and asked him, "Fili, he should join me, right? Are you with me?"

"Of course!" Fili agreed to her. "Come on, Kili. If you don't wanna dance, just go back to your humble abode. We're here to dance and to have fun!"

"Alright, alright…" Kili stood up and he let her grabbed him to the dancing area. They squeezed through the crowd and they found a perfect free spot to dance. Signy started dancing while Kili tried to keep up with her.

"_Let the moon do what she does_

_She don't need to make a fuss_

_She don't know she shines for us_

_Something tells me that she does"_

Kili danced to the beat, realising that this was a really great song. He loved the beat, the banjo, the guitar, and how beautiful Bofur's voice was. How beautiful the woman who was dancing freely in front of her. She looked so pretty with the moonlight that shone upon her, reflecting her best traits. Her petite body was moving with no boundaries. He felt like he saw something about her that he had not seen before. Yes, he admitted that he had been flirting with her all this time, but it was just for fun. Now he felt the warmth and the sound of his faster heartbeat really true.

"_Follow the signs, right back to you_

_Back to you, back to you_

_I know they wind right back to you_

_Back to you, back to you_

_I trust the signs so I may find my way to you_

_Back to you, back to you_

_Follow the signs, right back to you_

_Back to you, back to you."_

As the guitar sound ended, the song ended as well. The crowd were cheering and some of them starting to walk back to their respective tables. Signy gasped for air. Her face was red. "Whoa, what a song! I'm going back to my seat, I guess I need to drink more ale…" just after she said it, the band started playing a slower song. She was going to walk, but suddenly she felt Kili's hands on her waist and she shivered as she felt Kili's lips already on her ear, whispering "Don't. Dance with me."

"I can't slow dance," she whispered back, her voice trembled with fear and insecurity.

"Don't worry. I'll lead you," said Kili. She felt his left hand still clinging on her waist and his right hand guided her to his waist. They started moving in unison.

"This is my favourite song," said Kili with a small smile. Signy just casted a fainted smile because truthfully, she could not handle all the sudden warmth and her heart beat which suddenly beated three times faster than its' normal pace.

"_If I didn't care more than words can say_

_If I didn't care would I feel this way?_

_If this isn't love then why do I thrill?_

_And what makes my head go 'round and 'round_

_while my heart stands still?"_

Signy felt like she wanted to pass out once she heard the lyrics. She felt the lyrics had somehow slapped her in the face, especially on how to deal with feelings. She was really bad at feeling things and she knew it was one of her worst characteristics. She felt that the song knew what kind of battle had been happening inside her heart. She might fight hard to deny it, but she knew someday her defense mechanism would eventually fall down.

She followed Kili's lead as the song kept playing. Trina, the female singer, really did her job well, as she was the lead singer of the song. She felt Kili repositioned his body so that they became closer. "_Holy Mahal, what will happen? I am so not ready for this!_" she could hear herself scream for help in her brain.

"Say, Signy… what are you feeling now?" Kili asked her, his hands did not move any inch from her waist.

"Umm… Actually, I am quite nervous," she answered.

"Why?"

"Umm… because I haven't gotten this close to you. To any man, in fact," she decided to spill the truth. Kili smiled a sincere smile at her.

"_If I didn't care would it be the same?_

_Would my every prayer begin and end with just your name?_

_And would I be sure that this is love beyond compare?_

_Would all this be true if I didn't care for you?"_

The song ended. People cheered. However, it was not the perfect cheering moment for Signy. As the song ended, Kili grew closer to her, she could feel his body was actually touching hers. Their faces were only separated by an inch. Kili smiled and he began to lean his face and closed his eyes. She knew he was trying to kiss him. "_I'm so afraid. I feel badly. Please don't do this, Kili,_" she screamed inside her heart, thus making her very stiff. Kili's lips stopped halfway. He opened his eyes and saw Signy's scared look. He eventually casted a soft smile and put his hand away from her waist.

"Come on, we need the ale," he grabbed Signy's hand and they walked hand in hand to their table. Back in their table, they saw Fili was still sitting, enjoying another plate of food while sipping on his glass full of ale.

"Looks like you guys were having a good time," he teased.

"Yeah, sort of," Kili laughed whilst casting a longing glance to Signy. Signy sat as well, trying to control herself, but she could not even feel her face. It was burning hot because of the dance, the air, and the fact that Kili had nearly kissed her.

oOoOoOoOo

"That was fun," Signy sighed as they closed the front door. After the most intense dance of Signy's life, they ate a few foods and then resumed dancing. Signy even danced a bit with Fili, who turned out to be a great dancer. She did not see any signs of Rosamund in the party. She assumed maybe she was in another party in another region of Blue Mountains. At one point, she was glad about it, but on the other hand, she felt like Rosamund should see her intimate moments with Kili a few hours ago.

"I never knew you can be so carefree while dancing, Signy," Kili teased as they threw themselves on to a couch.

"Ah, I wasn't that much of a dancer," she replied modestly. "Fili was a great one. No wonder many girls want to be betrothed to him!" she laughed, imagining Fili's smooth moves on the dance floor just moments ago.

"But still, you were glowing," Kili grinned as he turned his face to her.

"I take that as a compliment," Signy answered, smiling. And then, suddenly Signy felt a swift movement from Kili. She could feel him scooting over towards her so their bodies were closer to each other. She stared at Kili, trying to hide her fears. He stared back at her with his deep, intense dark eyes.

"You know, Signy, I forget to say something to you during the party," he said as he sustained his head with his left hand, his eyes still gazed upon hers. "Something really important for you to know."

"What is it?" she tried to balance her voice, trying to sound as cool as possible. She mimicked Kili's gesture. Now they were sitting really close and facing each other.

"You look really beautiful tonight, Signy. I forgot to tell it at the party because I was too busy admiring your beauty," one simple sentence flew out from Kili's mouth. Signy felt she was nearly dying. Her heart stopped. For the second time, Kili told her she was beautiful… both in their own seductive ways.

Before Signy could even say a word, Kili's free hand touched hers and slowly pulled her closer to him. They still locked their gaze upon each other. Kili's stern eyes shifted to a more calming look, it seemed like he was sending a telepathic message to Signy's brain, telling her to let loose and just for this one time, to believe in him.

"Not just tonight…" Kili said softly to her as he tracked her jawline with his fingers softly. "I have always thought you're beautiful. Trust me on this."

"Thank… thank you," Signy answered him, her voice was nearly gone. She was too scared, too afraid, too nervous, however Kili's calm look suggested her to calm down and to just let go of her worriness, fears, and inhibitions. She felt the butterflies in her stomach struck back. "Why are you doing this, Kili?" she was surprised that she could still talk in this kind of situation.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you at all. This won't hurt a bit," Kili touched the back of her neck and slowly pulled her face even closer to his. "I like you so much," was his final words as their lips finally met.

Signy could feel a rush of warmth slowly enveloped her body, the same warmth she experienced in her dream a few weeks ago. The kiss was very soft and tender. She closed her eyes, starting to feel relaxed as she opened her lips, allowing Kili's to explore more of hers. Kili was right. This did not hurt a bit. In fact, she enjoyed it. She started to feel so stupid why she did not let this happen sooner. "_So this is what a kiss feels like. No wonder people do that all the time,_" she spoke in her heart which was jumping for joy.

She felt the same familiar warmth and she felt her body started to relax. She dared herself to touch Kili's nape softly as she kissed him in return. Kili made a soft groan. "You know what… I had a dream just like this," she said softly as they paused kissing.

"Really?" Kili's eyes bawled out in surprise. She smiled shyly as she told the whole story to him. She began telling the beginning of her dream, how Kili pushed her to the wall and started kissing her and how the kissing session intensified. "And then I woke up. I felt really weird afterwards, but there was this same warmth all over my body," Signy closed her confession with a small laugh.

Kili smiled. "Well, at least this is not a dream anymore," he said as he kissed her again with the same warm and soft kiss. Signy happily kissed him back, whilst sometimes switched the kisses from his lips to his rough stubbles. "I like guys in stubbles," she whispered on his ears. "For me, they are very attractive."

Kili smiled as he heard Signy's confession. "Just this afternoon I think I told someone that someday there would be a girl who was crazy over my stubbles," he teased her, and then he kissed her jawline, making her shiver. His hands were still on her nape, touching it really softly.

"And I hid them perfectly, didn't I?" Signy casted a smug face as they stopped kissing and now Signy was cuddling with him on the couch. Kili smiled. "Yes, you did," he replied. "Why did you hide it, Signy? Why are you so afraid to feel?"

"I… don't know," Signy said, as she trailed her fingers on his neck. Her mind wandered. "I guess I'm not really good with feelings. The more I show them, the more I want to hide them. I feel badly, that's the worst part of myself. I feel like I should not feel things – be it anger, jealousy, disappointment, or even liking someone. I think those as negative emotions I must cast away. I must be happy, focused, determined, and serious. All this time I have planted that mindset to my brain. Thus… making me unable to express how I really feel," she told him her full story.

Kili could sense a hint of fear from her voice. He kissed her on her forehead and whispered softly, "You don't have to worry, Signy. From now on, you can express your feelings. No one is going to judge you. You can smile, cry, laugh to me. At some point, you need to trust people who really matter to you. Well, I hope I matter to you."

She looked up to him. "Yes, you matter. You're… my housemate. We need to take care of each other," she smiled gently. Kili startled as he heard the word 'my housemate', but he decided that it was not the right time to question it. We had all the time in the world, he thought. This was one perfect moment he knew he was not going to ruin. The moment when Signy's defence mechanism fell down.

There was silence between them for a moment, however it was a different kind of silence. It was… peaceful, and very comfortable. "Kili," Signy called him.

"Yes?"

"I think we need to take things slow," she said, kissing his neck, making him shiver.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"I mean… I don't want people to know that we kiss and do things we're doing tonight. Let's just act like a normal housemate, OK? I'm not really comfortable with public display of affection. Plus, I still have Rosamund to deal with. Imagine how furious she will be if she knew we kissed and cuddled," Signy shifted her body.

"Don't worry, Signy," Kili answered her softly. "Our secret is safe beneath the walls of this house."

**FINALLY! The moment we've all been waiting for! I admit that I have some personal difficulties whilst writing this chapter because to me it's so intense and so romantic. I'm just like Signy, I'm too weak for strong fluffy scenes! However, hold your horses. Things aren't going to be easy for them from now on. There will be more temptations and more problems, especially from Rosamund and another character I am going to introduce you in later chapters. Don't hesitate to drop me a review on this fanfic. They feed my soul! See you on another chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7: Walking on Different Worlds

**Author's Note: Hint hint, a slightly hurt chapter is coming your way. I only own my OCs.**

**Chapter 7: Walking on Different Worlds**

Signy opened her eyes. She felt like she just got up from such a marvelous dream. She dreamed that she and Kili went home from the fabulous Midsummer's Eve party, and then the next thing she knew… Kili kissed her and told her about how he felt. He liked her, and he had felt that way ever since they met for the first time. He also told her that she was very beautiful. She could recall that she finally released all her fears and inhibitions to him. How she finally learned to be fearless to someone who mattered to him.

"Signy, wake up," she could hear a soft voice and a knock on the door, waking her from outside her room. It was Kili's voice. She stood up from her bed and opened her bedroom door. In front of her, stood Kili, already wearing his outfit for the day. He smiled and he circled his hands on Signy's neck, pulling her closer to him and kissed her.

"_So it's not a dream,_" she thought, as she parted her lips. Kili explored her further. She could smell Kili's scent, it was a mixture between musk and morning grass. She finally dared herself to touch Kili's hair with her fingers and played with them as they kissed. "Good morning," he smiled, slowly resumed kissing her. He bit her lower lips, causing her to let out a slight moan.

"Mmm… top of the morning to you as well," she muttered under her breath. Kili giggled and stopped kissing her.

"I just realised something," he whispered as he hugged her very close.

"What is it?"

"That I can't kiss you for a long time," he chuckled.

"Why?"

"Because you're so easy to give in," they stopped hugging, and Kili held her hand. "Look at you, one kiss and you're already that weak. I'm afraid sooner or later you and I will get too… comfortable, if you know what I mean. By the name of Mahal, we need to control ourselves."

Signy found that Kili had a point. Besides, they had agreed to keep their relationship a secret because they were not ready yet. "By the way… I wonder when is the right time for us to give each other a nice betrothal braid and clasp," she giggled flirtatiously.

Kili blushed. Again, he pulled Signy closer for a tender hug, and whispered softly to her, "We will, my lady. Soon. And I'm really looking forward to doing it." Signy could feel his warm breath as he kissed her forehead lovingly. She also giggled upon hearing the word 'my lady'. She felt a funny feeling in her stomach, and she felt her heart jumping with joy and excitement. It was the first nickname Kili gave her after he confessed his feelings to her. She wanted to hear the word for a thousand time.

"Say it again," she whispered as they were still hugging.

"Say what?"

"That I'm your lady," she answered with a shy giggle.

Kili smiled. "You're my lady, Signy. Forever and ever. I swear to Mahal that we will get that betrothal clasp and braid in no time. You're my lady. I am head over heels for you."

oOoOoOo

Signy walked alone towards the Thorin's Gate. Usually, she enjoyed being a plain Signy. However, she felt that day was very different. She had become a different person. Kili's affection and his kiss were her boost for the day. She could never imagine that there would be someone who looked at her differently. All this time, she had gotten used to be the ordinary Signy, the one people did not usually look at. She had always been too plain, too simple, too blunt, too serious… truthfully, after knowing that there was at least one guy who got head over heels over her, that was a major confidence booster.

As Signy arrived to Thorin's Gate, she directly went to Ori's class, which was situated on the third floor. She turned out to be the first student who arrived in the room. She silently sat on a chair in front of Ori's desk, opened her duffel bag, and started to read that day's lesson. She was reading about Dwarven culture in betrothal and marriage (something she found to be funny and coincidental, because she and Kili were talking about that very subject just an hour ago) when suddenly she heard a familiar, snotty voice behind her. "Wow, Sig, you're a one tough bitch, eh?" It was no other than Rosamund's voice.

Signy turned her body around and faced Rosamund. "What are you trying to imply, Rosamund?" she asked her with a bored tone. She decided that she did not want to make Rosamund's witty and snobbish words to ruin her day.

"I thought you were gone, because I didn't see you yesterday in the Midsummer's Eve party," she answered her as she found her seat, which much to Signy's dismay, was exactly besides hers.

"For your information, I am a tough _bitch_," Signy emphasised on the word 'bitch', "and I don't plan to chicken out. I see that you were looking for me in the party? Of course I joined the party, I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Who took you out?" Rosamund tried to intimidate her. "You have no friends. I wonder who you went to the party with."

"That's not your business," Signy muttered to her. "Who I'm fraternising with and who took me to the party last night was none of your business, and you better stop lurking at my problems," she snapped at her. She tried to make a witty comeback, and she felt like she had succeeded, because Rosamund gasped and looked at her with disbelief.

"Don't you dare to talk to me with that… that tone again," she replied in her snobbish fashion. Signy casted her an evil gaze, she could feel that Rosamund slightly felt terrified and shocked to see that Signy was able to stand for herself. A second later, she asked Signy, "How are things going with you and Kili? You're not planning to _fall in love with him, _aren't you?"

Signy gulped. Falling in love. The three words she had always been afraid of. The exact feeling she had always been afraid of feeling. Had she fallen for Kili? Had she really fallen for that adorable puppy smile, that sharp, dark gaze his eyes had always casted her, his amazing and wonderful personality, his kiss that weakened her, that exciting stubble… had she? "What do you mean?" she tried to snap her again, but it was no use. Her mind had already clouded with insecurity and fear, thus making her less sharper than before.

"Don't lie to me, Signy. I don't like you, but unfortunately we have the same sexual organs, thus making me feel the things that you feel. I sense something different from you. How you act when Kili is around, how you grin that stupid sheepish grins to him. You may not notice, but I always do. And trust me, there's no way I can let you be together with him," she casted an evil look on her eyes and kept staring at her with that look. Signy totally felt uneasy, but she did not want to run away from the class, crying. The only way to stop Rosamund was to follow her intentions, and now, her intention was to see Signy broke down and cry. That was the last thing Signy would ever show Rosamund.

"Newsflash: Kili doesn't see you more than a friend," Signy answered her boldly. "He told me a few weeks ago. Give up, Rosamund. You have no chance to be with him. You can't force him to like you back. Give your love to someone who loves you back. Don't waste your energy and your time to love someone who don't feel a slight feeling to you."

Rosamund laughed. It was an evil laugh, and Signy hated to see her laugh with that manner. "You're wrong, Signy. I have a chance to be with Kili. If you haven't noticed, Kili is a royalty. Which means, he should be betrothed to someone that also has a royal blood, or at least someone from a rich family. In fact, _I_ come a rich family. My family and Kili's have been in touch for centuries, even when they still lived in Erebor. So yeah, you better back off because Kili will be mine and when I see something or someone that I want, I will get it. No matter what it costs me." She stopped her long lecture because the other students had arrived and their lesson with Ori would start soon.

Signy was in shock. She did not believe Rosamund's word, but sooner or later, her evil words started to seep under her skin and her brain. She had forgotten one thing: like it or not, Kili was a royalty, and he should be betrothed with someone equal to him. A royalty who married someone from a low-class family would be considered as a traitor and they could be erased from the family. She thought all those stupid rules only existed in fairy tale books her mother read her as a child. "_Fuck social classes!,_" she thought to herself, forcing herself not to cry in front of Rosamund. She could feel her breath hardened, as she gasped for air in silence.

"_Maybe I am destined to be lonely. After all, Rosamund said that she would fight to have Kili in any ways possible. Face it, Signy… you're nothing compared to her. She has expensive and wonderful clothes, her hair is always combed perfectly… and you? You only have modest, hand-me-down clothes, you even bought your Midsummer's Eve party dress in a consignment store, for Mahal's sake! Maybe Kili is better off with Rosamund, even though he had said that he didn't like her as more than a friend…"_

oOoOoOo

It was lunch time and Signy was supposed to continue her class afterwards, but she was too heartbroken to continue studying. She decided to skip her afternoon class, she wanted to come home. She wanted to explain to Kili that they could not be together, no matter how they insisted it to be. After reluctantly eating a bowl of chicken soup in the dining hall, Signy dragged her feet back to her house.

Whilst walking home, she kept rephrasing the words she would tell Kili. She realised that she had grown fond of him, but she also acknowledged that they were in two different worlds. How humble and down to earth Kili might have looked, still he was a royalty. He was Fili's little brother, Thorin's nephews, direct line of the Durin family. Signy? Her father only owned an inn in her village, and her mother was only a devoted housewife. She had no treasure, no money, no family history to be proud of. Signy kept on thinking and thinking until she realised that she had stood in front of her house's front door.

She weakly opened the door. As she walked towards her room, she could see that Kili's door was open and he was in his bedroom, reading a book. She gulped. He looked so relaxed. She reminded herself how much she liked him and how much she wanted to be with him. However, she could not. The stars and the gods did not allow them to be.

"Hi Kili," she said with a blunt face, entering his room. He glanced at her, smiled the biggest smile she had ever seen, and walked to her. He hugged her very tight. "Hi yourself. How's class? Why are you home? Are you skipping your afternoon class?" he asked tons of questions in a playful tone.

"I'm just… tired. Yeah, I'm skipping it. I feel like I'm not myself," she sighed as she sat on Kili's bed, followed by him.

"What's going on? Are you sick?" he sounded worried. He touched Signy's forehead. "No, I'm fine. I'm just… Kili, we need to talk about something."

Kili's expression suddenly froze. He held Signy's hand as he said, "Signy, what's going on? Please don't scare me like this. I know that 'we-need-to-talk' tone. It's usually not a good news." His voice trembled with fear and he stared at Signy's eyes, fear crept out from his eyes.

"I… I don't think we should continue this relationship," Signy said those hurting words, not looking back at Kili's stern gaze.

"What do you mean?" he tightened his grip on Signy's hand. "I'm head over heels for you, Signy, what do you mean that we shouldn't continue this? Please, tell me. We can work this out."

"No, we can't," Signy felt a puddle of tears starting to pile up on her eyelid. "We can't, because we're in two different worlds. You… you're royalty, and I'm nothing but a commoner." She could not help it. A tear escaped from her left eye.

"Signy, don't say that word…" Kili pulled her closer as he embraced her. "Uncle Thorin said that I could marry anyone I wanted to. He won't interfere with my choices. I want to be with you. Please, don't break my heart," his voice trembled. He bit his lips, trying hard not to cry. Seeing Signy crying was the last thing he wanted to see.

"I can't… I can't be with you, Kili. You're made for someone else," her voice trembled as another tear escaped her right eye. "I had a thought today…" she was going to continue her words when she felt Kili's soft lips pressed against her. She instantly melted in his arms. This kiss was different. She had not felt this kind of kiss coming from Kili before.

"Don't speak," Kili let out a soft, trembling whisper. "Don't think. Just feel, Signy." He pressed his lips against her, trying to tell her how much he wanted to be with her, telling her to feel.

Signy felt dizzy. Her heart was throbbing. Kili told her to feel. She could not feel anything. She was so sad to the point that she could not feel anything positive. She kissed Kili back, but she was not focused. She let go of their embrace and tried so hard to look at him in the eyes.

"Kili… we can't… I'm sorry… I can't…" she could not continue her words as she suddenly rushed out of Kili's room and out from the house. She was heartbroken. She ran and ran towards the city centre. Before she knew it, she was already in front of The Bagpipe Inn. She had no other choice, so she walked in and she rushed to see Rowan, who was preparing the bar to open at night.

"Signy, my dear lass, what's wrong?" Rowan was shocked to see Signy rushing towards him, her eyes were swollen and he could hear her crying.

"Can't you open the bar earlier? I need… I need ale," she chuckled as she wiped her excess tears from her cheeks.

"Sorry lass, but you have to wait for another two hours to order ale," Rowan looked at her with a sad look. "Come here, dear Signy… What's troubling you, dear?" he got out from his station and gave Signy a warm, comforting hug.

"I… I can't…" Signy kept crying in Rowan's arms. She felt somehow safe, and she felt as if it was her father who was hugging her.

oOoOoOo

Two hours later, the bar had opened. People startied to enter the bar and the music started playing. Signy was sitting on one of the bar stools. "Rowan, give me ale and keep 'em coming," she said in a grim voice.

"Coming right up, Signy," Rowan could do nothing but to give Signy her ale. He understood that she had gotten through bad times, and ale was definitely the best drink to ease the pain, if not erasing it.

A few seconds later, Rowan handed Signy her first glass of ale. She kept on drinking, and drinking, to the point where she could not think anymore. She could hear a guy pulling a bar stool besides her and she could hear him ordering a glass of ale. His voice reminded her of Kili.

"Hey lad, you… I know you from somewhere," she slurred as she looked upon his face. He was not Kili, but at least he was something for Signy's eyes. He had sparkling blue eyes, shoulder-length auburn hair, strong jawline and a very appealing crooked smile.

"Uh, sorry?" he smiled as he lowered himself. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

"I said… I know you from somewhere," Signy half-shouted at the man, because the bar was starting to get crowded. The man smiled.

"If you think we have met before, do you know my name?" the man gave her an irresistable smile. Signy shivered and she gave him a playful grin. She might be drunk, but she was still aware of handsome men.

She shook her head. "I… I did that just to talk to you," she slurred and grinned sheepishly.

"My name is Amsterdam," he half-shouted at her.

"I am Signy," she replied, drinking another glass of ale. They both pulled a knowing smile.

oOoOoOo

It was dark. Amsterdam lighted one of the chandeliers on the wall. They had to leave the bar thirty minutes later, because Signy was so drunk and Rowan prohibited her for another glass of ale. He gave Amsterdam a full consent to bring her to his home, with only one condition: "Don't use her". He nodded, realising that he did not want to have a one night stand with a drunk young Dwarf lady.

"Where are we?" she blinked her eyes. The room was very big and very spacious. She was sitting comfortably on a very comfortable couch, Amsterdam lounging beside her.

"I have to take you to my apartment because I don't know where you live," he answered her. "Are you alright? Do you need a glass of water?" she sensed a slight hint of worry in his voice. The same worrying tone Kili always used to her.

"_This guy should never know where my actual address is,"_ Signy warned herself. "Yes, a glass of water would be fine," she said weakly. She felt so dirty, so tired and so out of her mind. Amsterdam stood from the couch and went to the kitchen. A moment later, he came back, bringing a glass of pristine water.

"Here you go," he handed her the glass as he sat beside her. Signy drank the water with one gulp. "Need another drink?" he offered. Signy shook her head, saying "No, I'm fine. Thanks."

"You were so drunk, Signy, we had to leave the bar because Rowan didn't want to pour you another glass of ale. What happened?" he scooted closer to her. His voice deepened. "I know we just met under a very weird circumstance, but I can't help to know your story. I want to help you." He found her right hand and caressed it.

She stared at Amsterdam's beautiful sparking blue eyes. He stared back at her. She could sense Amsterdam being sincere and really wanted to help her. "Have… have you ever got your heart broken before?" she asked him, her voice trembled.

Amsterdam nodded. "Every Dwarves have. I must admit it is very painful. Now, who is the person who dares to break the heart of a very beautiful lady like you?" Signy blushed uncontrollably. "_Hey, Signy, you don't know this person. Don't blush!_" a little voice suddenly appeared in her brain.

"My… my housemate," she started her story and blurted out everything that had happened. However, she kept Kili's and Rosamund's name secret. She realised Amsterdam did not have to know all the details about the story. She told him how they finally realised how they felt for each other yesterday, only to have her to break his heart this afternoon. She felt so bad. She wanted to go home, knock on Kili's door, ran to him, kissing him with all her might… but she knew she could not do it. She forbade herself to go home tonight.

"I can't go home tonight, Amsterdam. I don't want to face him. I'm scared," she sobbed in front of him. She was shocked at how easy she could give herself to Amsterdam, a man she had not known before. She felt cautious, but Amsterdam pulled her closer for a friendly, warm hug.

"Don't worry, Signy," he whispered softly. "You can stay here for a few days, until you regain your confidence and strength. I will help you. You can sleep on this couch. It's very comfortable, you see."

"Thank you for your kindness, Amsterdam," she let go of his embrace and gave him a faint smile. "I will never forget this." After she said her last words, something unexpected happened.

Amsterdam pressed his lips unto hers. She felt instant warmth, nearly the same warmth just like the feeling when Kili kissed him. She tried to fight back, but it was no use. She was very tired, and Amsterdam's kiss seemed to soothe him. He swifted his lips to her left ear as he whispered softly, "For good luck." Signy could only nodded, her head was so heavy. She needed sleep.

She saw Amsterdam stood from the couch and walked towards his room. "Good night, Signy," he turned around to face her and gave her a warm smile, as he opened his bedroom door.

.

**Alright. Some of you might want to kill me now. I'm so sorry but I think Rosamund should play a role, right? And what do you think of Amsterdam? I personally think he's a charmer! Anyway, don't forget to review/favourite/follow this story! See you on another chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: Mending a Broken Heart

**Author's Note: Before I begin, let me give a big hug and a super shout out to the super fab Wolves of Midnight and TheMaddieArchives for the great support! This time, I am experimenting once again with the joy of songfic. To enhance your reading experience, you may search for Al Green's 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' and listen to it as the background music (works too with Bee Gees' original or Michael Buble's rendition). Anyway, this chapter will be covering Kili's and Signy's point of view. Reviews, favourites and follows are greatly encouraged and appreciated! Happy reading!**

**As always, I only own my OCs. Kili and the gang belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.**

**Chapter 8: Mending a Broken Heart**

**Kili's POV**

It had been three miserable days since Signy left. Kili had felt a great amount of pain for the past three days. He could not eat properly, he did not have the intentions to go out at all, he cut himself off from his relationship from the outside world, and he kept on having bad dreams whenever he fell asleep. For three solid days, Kili had slept in Signy's room. He wanted to smell her lingering scent on her bed sheet. He felt that it was the only thing that reminded him of her. He had got no news from Signy, and that really made him frustrated.

Kili woke up reluctantly from Signy's bed. He had another nightmare. He dreamt of her storming off the house and not returning. No matter how hard he screamed, no matter how fast he ran after her, it seemed like she walked very fast, thus making him unable to reach out for her and to stop her from going. He woke up with tears on his cheeks and sweats all over his body.

"Kili? Are you there?" he heard Fili knocking Signy's door. He answered him weakly, "Yes, I'm here, my brother."

Fili opened the door and rushed out to see Kili. In his eyes, his brother had turned to be so glum. His hair had turned messy; his face was very palm, and the spirit that had always shown in his eyes… they were gone. Kili looked like a homeless person. Fili could do nothing but to give his younger brother a loving, brotherly hug.

"Signy… She… She left… I… I don't know what I've done wrong… She just stormed off one afternoon, not even saying goodbye…" his voice trembled as he whispered her name. He could feel tears began to fall from his eyes. Screw being manly, he thought. Losing Signy had made him lost his mind.

"Kili, stay calm," Fili assured him. "Everything will be alright."

A few minutes later, Kili let go of Fili's embrace. He stared at his brother's eyes. Fili looked very attentive and very concerned on him. "Kili, I think I'm missing something. Why don't you tell me everything that has been going on lately? And why does Signy's sudden departure make you so sad? I haven't seen you cried for all of my life."

Kili tried to compose himself. He took several deep breaths. His fingers trembled. He might have promised Signy that he would keep their relationship and his feelings towards her a secret, but now it seemed like he really needed some help from his brother.

"Do you still remember the Midsummer's Eve party, when I almost kissed her?" he asked Fili. He nodded attentively, his eyes told Kili to continue his story. "Well… long story short, we finally kissed on the couch, right after we came home from the party.

I told her how I felt about her. I know, Fili, I didn't tell you about it, but I'm sure you have noticed it. I'm such an open book. I can't hide my feelings. I told her that I had liked her since I first laid my eyes upon her. And then we kissed again. She told me that she liked kissing guys with stubbles. I was shocked because prior to the party, we were talking about life partners. She said that she had never dated anyone before. I was startled by her answer, because I thought she was very amazing… at least for me.

However, by the end of the night, she told me not to show our affection to anyone else. The secret must be kept safely inside the house. I agreed, because I understood the whole betrothal clasp and braid thing… The next day, I woke her up… she asked me when we would exchange betrothal clasp and braids… I told her that we would do that really soon… I called her 'my lady', because she really was… In the afternoon, my dream was shattered right in front of me," he ended his story with a sad, longing look. He felt suffocated again. Remembering the whole process of his heart being broken was very hard for him.

"Did she tell you any reasons why she left you? She wouldn't have done that on purpose. Even though I have only met her twice, but I know she also has the same feeling for you," Fili asked Kili. He could feel how heartbroken his brother was, even though he had never experienced it before.

"She told me that I should marry someone with the same class as me. She told me there's no way a royal can marry a commoner," he answered Fili with devastated look in his eyes.

Fili did not answer him, but a few minutes later he snapped, "Rosamund must be the mastermind behind all these things."

"What do you mean?" he asked him in quizzical look.

"Kili, can't you see it?" Fili's voice grew impatient. "I know Signy. Albeit her stiff personality, I know for sure that she won't think such stupid reason by herself. Someone might pull the trigger, and that someone must be Rosamund! Don't you remember how infatuated she is to you? She has liked you since you guys were still kids, Kili. Her family is also a long time friend of ours. Of course, it all makes sense!"

"What should I do? Now that Signy is already gone, I feel like she has taken away my brain as well."

Fili smiled encouragingly, tapping his brother on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Kili. I will help you to confront Rosamund. I'm sure Signy will eventually come back. You both belong together, I believe so."

oOoOoOo

In the end, Fili finally succeeded to force Kili to take a bath, because he had not taken a single bath since three days ago. He promised him to take him downtown because he wanted him to forget about his problems for a while.

"Where are you taking me?" asked Kili, letting himself being dragged outside the house by Fili. He had already taken his bath, and now he was wearing his casual clothes.

"The Compass, of course! Nothing will heal you like a delicious plate of mashed potato with a tasty sirloin steak, right? My treat, brother!" Fili answered him with excitement. Kili sighed, suddenly he remembered that he once took Signy for a dinner in The Compass after her first day of being Ori's understudy.

Ten minutes later, they finally arrived in the city centre of Blue Mountains. It was jam-packed by so many people as usual. Kili looked around his surroundings, constantly examining every faces he met along the streets. He hoped to see a glimpse of Signy. He promised to himself, if he found Signy among the crowd, he would run towards her, no matter how many people he would crash into. He would run to her, hugged her, and begged her to come back. He missed her that much.

Fili and Kili walked until they arrived in front of The Compass. It was before noon, so there were not many people yet. They entered the restaurant, greeted by the friendly Odin (Fili directly muttered their usual orders to him), and swiftly walked to their usual table. Kili gulped. It was the same table where he had dinner with Signy. He sat on the same chair. Signy was in front of him, but now she was replaced to Fili.

"Hey, brother, are you alright?" Fili saw his empty eyes and shocked him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm good," he lied.

"You're not good at lying, Kili," Fili casted a malicious smile. "You two sat here, am I right?" Kili sighed and nodded weakly.

Fili decided not to say a word. He was devastated to see Kili's condition. He had never seen his brother became so empty, so depressed. Sure, Kili had gotten his dark times, however it could not be compared to the situation he was having at that moment. He acknowledged that Kili forced himself to look happy and pleased in front of him, but he knew they were just layers of lies on his face. He could see his sorrow through his empty, soulless eyes.

"Here you go, two plates of mashed potatoes and sirloin steak," Odin startled Kili's thoughts upon Signy by serving their ordered foods. After saying thank you, they ate in silence.

Kili lazily forked his mashed potato and forced himself to eat it. It did not taste as delicious as before. He realised he had lost his appetite as well. The Compass' mashed potato was one of his favourite foods, how could he dislike it in any way? However, he forced himself to eat. He did not want to disappoint Fili who had offered to pay for this lavish meal. He looked up to see his brother who was devouring his meal as if it was his last meal. Yes, he knew The Compass' mashed potato and sirloin steak were THAT good, but he was not in the mood to eat.

Kili was staring at the window when he saw one of the magical moments of his life. He saw Signy. Signy, in her petite figure, her shoulder-length layered chestnut brown hair, was strolling alone in front of The Compass. He could not think of anything else when he felt something to make him rushed out from the restaurant.

"Signy! SIGNY!" he shouted as he followed the girl whom he believed was Signy. The girl blended among the crowd, making it harder for Kili to reach her. Finally the girl dispersed from the crowd and Kili decided to follow her discreetly. He stalked her from several feet away as the street started to get narrower than before. Finally he realised that they had reached the suburb region of Blue Mountains as he saw her entering a small coffee shop on a small street. The name of the coffee shop was very simple yet interesting: "Bean There?".

He paced as she entered the coffee shop. He did not want Signy to see him, so he decided to peek through the windows instead. There he saw her, sitting alone on a very comfortable couch, sipping on her cup. He kept staring at her beauty. She seemed clean and happy, wearing a set of new clothes, different than the clothes she wore when she left her. However, he could see a hint of sadness and emptiness in her bright eyes. He felt his feet moved, encouraging himself to open the coffee shop and to walk towards her, however his feet automatically stopped when he saw someone approaching her from the back of the coffee shop.

It was a Dwarf male. He was a lean, slightly muscular Dwarf man with sparkling blue eyes and bright auburn shoulder-length hair. His eyes were sparked with happiness as she realised his appearance and she motioned him to sit beside her. He brought a glass of iced coffee with him and he put the glass on the table while listening to Signy talking. She seemed happy whilst talking to him. Kili watched his flirty body language as he leaned closer to her, showing his great interest in whatever they were talking about. He watched him as he motioned his fingers to touch Signy's knee. Signy slightly moved her knee once his fingers touched it, her face showed a slight discomfort.

Kili watched those heartbreaking moments with his own eyes. His world and his heart had fallen and crumpled down. Once he was the happiest man on earth, and now he felt like he was the poorest man ever. However, he stayed where he was, trying so hard to conceal his tear and his sorrow as he kept watching the view in front of her. Whilst watching Signy and the unknown man, Kili could not help to ask Mahal in his heart: "Why me, Mahal?". His concentration finally dispersed when someone patted him on the shoulder.

Kili turned his face, only to see Fili. "Why are you here?" Fili whispered cautiously.

Kili pointed his finger to Signy, who was still comfortably sitting inside the coffee shop. "That's Signy and an unknown man. I'm glad to see her safe and sound, but this is not something I'm expecting," he answered, looking up to him, his eyes were totally empty.

Fili sat besides Kili and watched Signy through the window for a brief moment. "Nah, they're not together," he said in a hushed tone.

"What makes you say so?" Kili uttered to him.

"I'm looking at her body language. She's not focused at him. She keeps glancing at other directions, especially when he speaks. And her smile… it's not a sincere smile; it's more like a polite smile. Oh, her feet are not pointed toward him, that is also a sign of discomfort and not interested in something or someone," Fili answered, not breaking his eye contact to Signy's interaction with the man.

"How do you know all these?" Kili questioned him in awe.

"Years of observation, brother," Fili faced him and giggled, then continued to focus on Signy. "We better hide, seems like Signy is ending the conversation and she's walking to the front door!" They rushed to hide behind the building. A few moments later, Kili saw Signy went out from the coffee shop and headed somewhere else. He looked at her longingly as he whispered, "I miss you. Come back, my lady."

oOoOoOo

**Signy's POV**

"I'll wait for you in a small coffee shop in the suburb called 'Bean There?'. It's a famous one, you won't miss it. I have some errands I have to do first. So I'll meet you there about two hours from now?" Amsterdam told Signy as he was going to leave his apartment. Signy nodded in agreement. A few moments ago, Amsterdam asked her to go to his coffee shop for a comfortable chat. However, he had to manage something first. He had provided her with his sister's nice clothes. They waved goodbye as Amsterdam closed the door, leaving Signy alone in the huge apartment.

Signy missed Kili so much. Amsterdam was a very gentle man; however he could not replace Kili. She had sensed that he had a crush on her, but she tried to keep her heart closed. Deep in her heart, she wanted Kili to chase her, to hug her and whispered that he would never let her go again.

Two hours. What should she do for the next two hours? She plunged into her deep thought. The apartment was already cleaned, and she felt she did not need to do anything anymore. She began to wander around the apartment when she finally found a large bookshelf. She suddenly grew excited. She had loved books for her entire life. She observed Amsterdam's book selection and she was pleased because Amsterdam had the same taste as hers in literatures. She finally took a large book about Dwarven tales and began reading it to kill her spare time.

Two hours later, she had wandered around Blue Mountains' city centre. She was wearing a peach-coloured knee-length pants with sky blue blouse. The sun shone so bright, accompanied by slight chilly wind. Typical summer in Blue Mountains. She bounced along the street as she savoured the view surrounding her. People walking, sellers selling their goods, children playing on the curb… However, her mind was startled when she saw a small signpost named 'The Compass'. Her stomach groaned. She suddenly remembered her first day as Ori's understudy. Later that night, Kili treated her for a nice dinner in that exact restaurant. She could recall how nervous she was when Kili kept on touching her, and she found herself grinning to herself when she recalled Kili's blush when she reminded him that he had touched her several times for the entire day.

She wanted to visit that restaurant. She realised that she had not eaten breakfast. A plate of mashed potato would surely fulfill her hunger. However, she was scared. What if she found Kili there, having breakfast with Rosamund? She could imagine Rosamund's smug look. She decided not to enter the restaurant and she chose to go to Bean There? instead.

She was trapped inside the crowd, but she kept walking. Suddenly she stopped; her ears caught someone shouting his name. It was Kili's voice. She kept on listening, but the voice had gone. She thought that it was just her subconscious mind, so she decided to continue walking.

A few minutes later, she arrived in front of a small coffee shop near the outskirts of the city centre. It was nearly invisible because it had no huge signpost, just a small coffee bean logo with a small 'Bean There?' sign. She opened the door, walked to the coffee serving table, and asked for a chamomile tea, her favourite tea. Seconds later, she walked towards a comfortable couch, a cup of tea on her hand.

She looked around her surroundings. It was a comfortable coffee shop. The interior was well-lit, and Signy was pleased to find many books scattered around the shop. Deep in her heart, she praised Amsterdam for his nice sense of decorating. She could find several posters about coffee and coffee beans hung on the wall. Another thought slipped her mind. If only she could bring Kili to this nice little coffee shop. They could talk for hours whilst sitting on this wonderfully comfortable couch. They could talk about their lives, their favourites, and the world. Signy could devour her wish to see Kili's sheepish grin, his crooked smile, and his dark, wide and deep eyes.

However, her imagination had to come to an end when she felt a slight tap on the shoulder. It was Amsterdam. He smiled as he motioned to sit beside her. "I see you have found my favourite couch to relax," he giggled. She smiled to see him arriving just in time.

"How long have you been here?" he questioned her whilst sipping on his iced coffee.

"A few minutes ago," she answered bluntly. She was happy to see Amsterdam, but she realised she was not _that _happy to see him. A larger part of her wished that it was Kili who tapped her on the shoulder.

"So, what did you do the whole day?" he started the conversation.

"Umm… nothing much. I was just reading one of your book collections. I've never thought that you have books talking about Dwarven folklores," she said with a slight excitement.

"Yeah, it's one of my favourite subjects," Amsterdam replied her excitedly. And then he blabbered about his favourite things, his hobbies, and so on. Signy could not keep focused on him because the thought of Kili could not escape her mind.

"So," Amsterdam cleared his throat, "What about you? I haven't known you that much. What brings you to Blue Mountains? What do you like to do in your spare time?" His fingers softly touched the end of Signy's knee.

Signy was shocked, and she automatically moved her knee. "Um… Well, I went to Blue Mountains to be Ori's understudy. I want to be a scholar in Dwarven culture because I find it very fascinating and interesting. In my spare time, I like to cook, read, and enjoy my solitude. I'm a very introverted person."

"Yeah, I can see that," Amsterdam chuckled. Signy took a sip of her chamomile tea. She was so bad in starting a conversation, so she decided to be silent and waited for Amsterdam to initiate the next questions.

Amsterdam started to ask her more about her private life, such as her family, her friends and her old village. She answered all of them with simple responses. Every time Amsterdam told her about himself, she found it hard to keep concentrating because her mind was filled by Kili. Finally, she said, "Amsterdam, I'm sorry but I got to be somewhere else," and stood up from the couch.

"Wait, where are you going?" Amsterdam held her hand, softly told her to stay for a while. "Come on, stay here for a bit. We haven't talked much."

"I gotta go to the library," Signy lied. She wanted to go anywhere but the coffee shop. "Yeah, the library. I just remember that I have an unfinished paper. See you at the house," she walked fast to the front door, leaving Amsterdam alone.

oOoOoOo

**Kili's POV**

It was 12 AM. Kili could not sleep. Every time he rolled his body on his bed, he always thought of Signy. He missed her body scent, her kisses, her awkward responses, her laughs, how she bit her lips every time she was nervous or too busy doing something, and how she always tried her best to make him happy.

Suddenly, he heard someone knocked on his door. "Kili, are you there?" it was Signy. He jumped from his bed and ran towards the door, opening it with such excitement.

He was right; it was Signy. She wore her nightgown and she was smiling ear to ear. "Hi Kili, I'm back," she said to him, still smiling. Kili pulled her close and embraced her with all the love he could give to someone else.

"Signy, I miss you so much! Please don't leave me again," Kili's voice trembled. He tried hard to hide his tears of joy. "Where have you been?" he asked her, still embracing her.

"Nowhere," she answered him simply. "Kili, I can't sleep."

Kili released her from his embrace as he motioned her to sit down on his bed. "Come here, you can sleep here for the night," he advised her as they both sat side by side on Kili's bed.

Signy looked at him, her face showing discomfort and fear. "But… I'm afraid. I'm afraid I can't control myself," she muttered.

"Hush, don't worry," Kili leaned his face to hers as his lips motioned to her left ear. "I can control myself. You're going to be safe. I won't do anything without your consent. Come on, let's sleep," he watched her as she crawled on an empty space beside him. He watched her as she positioned her head on the pillow, making herself felt comfortable. She smiled a childish grin when she realised that he had been watching her. "What are you looking at?"

"Why? Can't I look at my lady who has come back?" he pouted and laughed the next second. She chuckled. He lied down beside her and kept watching her. "I love you," he breathed as he pulled her gently and placing a fast kiss on her lips. She pulled him closer, slowly prolonged the kiss by gently sucking on his lower lip. "I love you too," she breathed whilst still kissing him.

Kili opened his eyes slowly. He slowly realised that it was just a dream. However, he felt that kiss very real because he could breath Signy's breath, he could feel her body temperature, and her touch felt so surreal to him. He looked at the clock, it was still dawn. He sighed as he tried to go back to sleep. Deep inside, he prayed to Mahal that they could reunite once more.

.

**I'm sorry for the sappy ending and if I have some grammatical mistakes in this chapter because it's now 10 PM in my city and I am so sleepy! I promise you, the next chapter will be better than this. Don't forget to R&R, as they feed my soul! Thank you and see you later!**


	9. Chapter 9: Revenge

**Author's Note: Hi all! I'm back with the newest chapter. I hope this chapter will quench your thirst. The song provided in this chapter is The Beatles' 'If I Fell'. As always, don't forget to read and review! Much love! Oh, before I forget… this chapter will cover both Signy's and Kili's point of view again. And you will see mild violence and mild swearing in this chapter, just saying.**

**Chapter 9: Revenge**

**Kili's POV**

Kili knew his biggest agenda today. Today, he had to confront Rosamund. He needed to find out Rosamund's true reason about why she intrigued her to leave him. She needed to know that Kili had no interest in making her his bride, because he found her very annoying. He woke up earlier, made himself a nice toast with orange jam, and fled to Fili's quarter in Thorin's Gate. He remembered that his brother had pledged to help him confront her, so now he was asking for his promise.

He arrived in Thorin's Gate five minutes later. The gate was still locked, fortunately Kili knew the gatekeeper who became the watcher so he could get inside Thorin's Gate discreetly. He ran through the stairs, towards Fili's room, and once he reached his room, he knocked his door aggressively. "Fili! Wake up! Wake up!"

A moment later, Fili opened the door. He still had a sleepy look, his eyes were still droopy. He combed his hair lazily with his fingers. "Kili, what's going on?" he asked his brother sleepily.

"You need to help me to confront Rosamund," he replied enthusiastically. "I have decided that today I'm going to dig the truth out of that bitch."

"Hold your horses, Kili," Fili answered him and then he yawned. "Aren't you too early for that? It's still dawn, and the classes won't start until 9 AM, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes, you're right, I'm just too excited for this," Kili stormed in to Fili's room and sat on his bed. "However, do you think I'm cruel?"

"Cruel? What do you mean, brother?" Fili asked his brother cryptically.

"I haven't confronted a woman for all my life. Mother told us not to yell at girls, didn't she?" he looked at his brother confusingly. He wanted to squish the truth out of Rosamund's expensive dresses, however he was scared to do that. His mother always told him not to be mean to girls because women were the source of life. However, the more Kili thought about Signy's reason to leave him, the more he hated Rosamund.

"You're not cruel, Kili," Fili sat beside him, squishing his hand, "You are firm. If you don't do this, chances are Rosamund will be back prying at you, even though Signy has returned to your embrace. What happens if Rosamund injects her evil plan to Signy again? You don't want to lose her for the second time, do you?" His voice sounded assertive.

Kili slowly nodded. He could not thank his brother enough. He hugged him and they continued talking about how he should confront Rosamund until the sun shone through Fili's bedroom window.

oOoOoOo

It was 9 o'clock. Fili and Kili had been walking back and forth in front of Ori's class since thirty minutes ago. They agreed that they should confront Rosamund before other students arrived, because they did not want to cause a scene, plus there was a possibility of Signy attending the class. Kili did not want Signy to see him confronting Rosamund, he was afraid that it might make a bad impression on him to her.

Finally, the time had come. Kili could see Rosamund sashayed toward the classroom. "Now or never, Kili," Fili said softly to Kili's ear. He took a glance at him and smiled.

"Hi Kili, how have you been?" Rosamund saw Kili and ran towards him. She looked so happy. "And what are you doing here, Fili?" she snorted whilst eyeing Fili who stood beside Kili. He pouted at her.

"Look, Rosamund, I don't want to waste my time pretending to be nice to you, so I'm gonna say this straight away: I know it was you who told Signy to leave the house," he clenched his jaws, his eyes burned. He nearly threw up to see Rosamund's flirty act in front of him.

"What do you mean?" she asked him, pretending not to know what happened.

"Oh come on, devil! Don't pretend like you're innocent!" Fili took over, he yelled at her. "We both know you're evil! You told Signy to leave Kili's house so you could win his heart, didn't you? Newsflash, you're not going to end up with him. Never!" he shouted as he clenched his fists.

Rosamund stared at Fili, she was expressionless. "Look, Rosamund," Kili whispered, holding his heavy breath, "I don't like you. I have never liked you at all. I like you as a friend, but I have never tried to approach you to be my girlfriend. I had Signy, Signy had me, and you ruined all of our plans. Now, tell me… what did you exactly say to her? What made her changed her mind? We were fine until you came to the picture, you know."

She gazed at him, casting an evil but flirty look. "Well, have you tried?" she asked in a seductive tone.

"No. I haven't tried, and I don't plan to," he answered her firmly. "I just want to know the truth. Come on, Rosamund. We're both adults. You don't want me to scold you like what your mum did when we were still younglings, do you?" Rosamund had always been this seductive to Kili, however he did not see any effects from it. Maybe he was born bulletproof to Rosamund's seductions.

She sighed. "Why? Why don't you see me? I have everything she doesn't have!"

"You're right, Rosamund. You have everything. You're beautiful, smart, and ambitious. However, Signy has something you don't," he paused. "She has modesty. That's what I'm looking for in a girl."

"But… but our families are friends!" Rosamund cried. "Don't you think that it's a sign for us to belong together? You're familiar with the rule that a royal should marry a fellow royal or someone who comes from higher society, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm familiar to that rule," Kili responded, his eyes were still casted upon her, "But, Uncle Thorin had promised me that he would not interfere on any of my business, including love matters. He once said to me that I could do anything I wanted to, and I could marry anyone I wanted to under one condition: I must act responsible in living any of my choices. This is me being responsible. I choose to ask for Signy's hand in marriage and no one can change my mind about that," he emphasised his last words with a stern tone and a stern look. Rosamund kept silent, she avoided Kili's stern look by looking down at the cobbled stone.

A few minutes later, Rosamund squealed, "Kili, you can't do that! I like you! I have liked you since we were teenagers! You can't do this to me! I'm going to tell Mister Oakenshield about this!"

Kili sighed impatiently. "_Seriously? Such a drama queen!"_ he muttered inside his heart. "Rosamund, I have stated my business. I don't like you and you'd better stop chasing me because I will find Signy. Come on, Fili, let's get outta here," he mumbled to Fili as they left the premises, leaving Rosamund with an 'I-can't-believe-it' face.

"KILI! WE ARE FAR FROM OVER!" he heard Rosamund shouted with anger and disgust. They just laughed at her silliness and resumed walking.

**Signy's POV**

It was late at night when Signy heard someone knocked on Amsterdam's door. She assumed it to be Amsterdam, because he told her in the morning that he would arrive home a little bit late. Signy had prepared a bowl of hot beef stew for him. While cooking, she had weighed her options on staying permanently at Amsterdam's apartment, or threw her dignity to come back to Kili's house.

She decided to do what was best for her. She remembered when she was little, her mother told her to follow her heart's content. Besides her wise words on being focused and determined, Signy had never forgotten her mother's words on staying true to her heart. She realised that however generous Amsterdam was, he was not Kili. There were times when Amsterdam tried to seduce her or flirted with her, and truth to be told, Signy had tried to give up on Kili and to return Amsterdam's flirtatious and seduction, but she just could not. She felt like she betrayed Kili if she did those things. Her heart's content was going back to Kili's place, and she decided to inform her decision to Amsterdam after dinner. Therefore, she went to the market this afternoon to buy some ingredients for her to cook. She wanted to cook beef stew, because she recalled Amsterdam once said it to be his favourite food for supper. She bought the best beef and the best spices. After spending more than an hour in the market, she headed straight back to Amsterdam's place. She wanted the food to be perfect, so she decided to spend more time cooking it. She was very sure she would finish her food before Amsterdam got home.

As Signy cooked her beef stew, she recalled her past memories. She shivered as she recalled her last day on Kili's house. She felt so stupid once she remembered her decision to storm off from Kili's place without rationally talked to him. She felt like it was not her. She had always become someone who preferred to talk whenever there were important issues. Her decision to walk away from Kili's place was very impulsive, which was a word that had never been in her dictionary. She was anything but impulsive. She soon realised that her decision to let go from Kili's embrace automatically made way for Rosamund to steal her place. She shook her head in disbelief, wondering why the hell she did that thing on the first place.

In her head, she kept rehearsing the words she was going to use to tell Amsterdam. _"Amsterdam, I'm sorry but I have to leave you and be with my boyfriend." "Amsterdam, I have to go back to my boyfriend's house because I just had this vision that I would end up betrothed to him. Ah, that sounds very mystical, I hate it!" "Amsterdam, I have made my choice. I am not staying any further with you. I wish you all the luck in the world." _She kept trying finding the right words, but it did not come out from her brain. She felt dumb. Finally, she decided to let the words came out by itself when she got the chance to talk to him.

Three hours later, she had finished cooking. She made three kinds of meals: a huge bowl of beef stew, a plate of fried vegetables, and a chunk of hot, crispy baguette. She thought of reading one of Amsterdam's books to kill her spare time, but she did not feel like reading. As she wandered around Amsterdam's living room, she found an old gramophone hidden near the bookshelf. It was an old and sturdy gramophone, but Signy liked it a lot. It reminded her of her old days in her village, when her father played some songs impromptu and impulsively asked her mother for a dance. Little Signy could only giggle and laugh to see her parents foolishly danced around their living room.

Signy examined the gramophone delicately. She loved how old it was, how she could feel the dust attached on her finger. She felt as if the gramophone had a story to be told. She turned it on, and she was surprised because it still worked. She just needed to find a working vinyl. She opened the drawer under the gramophone, and she was excited once more to find a small collection of vinyl recordings. Having examined the recordings one by one, she took a mental note that Amsterdam had an excellent taste in music. She found a vinyl titled 'Nostalgic Songs from Erebor' and quickly read the songs list that was written on the back cover of the vinyl recording. Signy skimmed the songs list, ignoring the titles she did not recognised, and suddenly frowned at one song title: "If I Fell". She shocked to see this song title appeared on the back of the vinyl cover, because it was exactly the song her parents used to dance to. She opened the vinyl cover, took out the vinyl and installed it on the gramophone. She had to listen to some songs for awhile before she got to the song she intended to listen. She slouched on the couch, closed her eyes and played a memory in her brain when the song started playing.

"_If I fell in love with you,_

_Would you promise to be true and help me understand?_

'_Cause I've been in love before,_

_And I found that love was more than just holding hands…"_

She replayed the memory of her parents dancing. They looked so happy in Signy's mind. She missed them so much. She wanted to grab them with her arms and hugged them close. Suddenly, her mind startled when someone knocked on the door. She left the couch to the door to open it.

She found Amsterdam stood outside the door, his clothes and his body was drenched in water. "Is it raining outside?" she let Amsterdam to come in. Amsterdam nodded. "For Mahal's sake, I just want to take a bath and then sleeeee…. Umm, are you cooking? Because I think I smell beef stew."

Signy nodded in excitement. "I just had a random thought today to cook you your favourite food." she smiled asking for Amsterdam's agreement.

"Wow, Signy! You are something!" He roughly kissed her on the forehead (something she could not avoid because it was so rapid) and walked to the dining room. His eyes gleamed with surprise when he saw that Signy had prepared the dishes on the dining table. "I'm so hungry just by seeing all of these foods. I'm going to shower first, okay? Have you eaten?" asked Amsterdam.

"No, I haven't. I was waiting for you," she replied him. Amsterdam excused himself to go to his room. A few minutes later, he went out from his bedroom, already looked fresh and clean. He wore a simple sky blue buttoned tunic with dark brown pants. His hair was freshly combed, and Signy could smell his scent when he sat down on the chair.

"So, what's the occasion?" asked Amsterdam whilst spooning a spoonful of beef stew to an empty bowl in front of him. He took a small amount of fried vegetables and a small part of baguette on his plate.

"Nothing, I think I just want to thank you for letting me stay here," she smiled whilst replying to Amsterdam's question. It was a nervous smile, because she knew she was going to say something important to him after they had finished eating.

They ate in silence. Amsterdam seemed so hungry, because he kept asking for more beef stew. "Rough day?" she tried to open a conversation. She always felt empty because Amsterdam could not make her talk. She hated to be a conversation started.

"Tell me about it," he breathed deeply. "I've got tons of paperwork at the office. I actually wanted to go home earlier and ask you for a dinner outside, but I was too caught up in the office. Luckily, you made these lavish meals," he grinned. "So, what did you do today?"

"Nothing, just went to the market and cooked," she answered shortly. "By the way, is that your gramophone? I don't know you have one."

"That's because you don't ask, dear," he played with his words. Signy swallowed her saliva upon hearing the word 'dear'. "I used to collect vinyl records before switching to collecting books. Some of them were my parents'. I bought the gramophone in a secondhand store when I was in school. Did you find it interesting?"

She nodded in excitement. "I was listening to a song before you came. It was a song my parents used to dance to when I was little," she chuckled. Amsterdam just smiled at her and continued eating. Another awkward silence, Signy thought.

A few moments later, she could not handle her words anymore. She suddenly said in a loud and clear voice, "Amsterdam, you've been so nice to me, but I think I should go back to my boyfriend's house."

Emptiness filled the air. Signy looked at Amsterdam to see his reaction. He stopped eating, but he did not look back at her. His jaws clenched. Signy continued her words, "It's not like you've done anything bad. I think you're one of the nicest Blue Mountains residents I have ever encountered. It's just… I'm following my heart. My heart says that I should go back to my boyfriend's house, and so it will be."

He did not reply her. Not a word. She could hear his breath hardened. He let go of the spoon he was holding, and his fists were clenched. He casted a stern gaze upon her. It was not a nice gaze at all. Signy could feel he was actually become angry.

"What did you say?" he muttered, but Signy could hear his voice suddenly darkened, loud and clear.

"I… I'm going back to my boyfriend's. Tonight," her voice weakened. She started to feel intimidated by Amsterdam. This was not the reaction she expected.

He stood up. Signy followed his action. The next moment, he walked towards Signy and gripped her chin. His grip was very strong. She could see fire in his eyes. "No one leaves my house, including you," he whispered strongly.

Suddenly she felt an immense terror crawling in her heart. She had never seen this vicious side of Amsterdam before. He had always been so nice, so silent, and so perfect. How come he was actually… a monster?

Before she could reply to Amsterdam, she felt a sudden heat on her left cheek. Amsterdam had slapped her cheek out of nowhere. "NO ONE LEAVES MY HOUSE! How dare you, Signy! After everything I have done for you these past few weeks, now you're going to leave? You… you ungrateful bitch!" His words slapped Signy's heart and dignity like never before. The next thing she knew, he pulled her long hair and pushed her to the couch.

"No, Amsterdam, please don't…" she could hear herself pleaded for mercy to Amsterdam. He said nothing, but his look told Signy that he would do anything to ease his anger. She silently sobbed. She could feel Amsterdam's weight on her thigh and one of his finger lingered to the inside of her left thigh, close to her undergarment.

"You're mine," Amsterdam leaned towards Signy as he whispered those two words with his hot breath. Signy could not resist. She closed her eyes, silently prayed to Mahal that someone would save her.

She could feel Amsterdam's hands moved to her stomach, where he impatiently caressed it. She felt scared beyond words. She had the urge to fight back, but Amsterdam's body weight was heavier than hers. Every time she tried to scream, his hand moved to her mouth, covering it. She felt powerless and she felt like giving up.

In her frustrated mind, suddenly she felt someone whispered, "_Fight back, Signy. Fight back." _She did not know whose voice it was, but it was very assuring and it made a huge impact on her confidence. She breathed deeply, and she quickly slammed her right leg on Amsterdam's chest.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Amsterdam screamed. He did not realise that he let go of Signy. Once she had the opportunity, she ran towards the door and quickly left the room. She ran downstairs, still feeling scared. She did not care about her surroundings, all she could ever thought of was how to get away from Amsterdam's apartment building as far as he could. She did not even care when she heard Amsterdam's yelling and grunting voice which could still be heard from the apartment's lobby

It was still raining heavily. She did not care about the weather, she just kept running. She had nothing inside her mind. She still felt huge amount of terror, insecurity, fear and sadness. She sobbed whilst running. She felt very dirty. No one had ever touched her like that before, not even Kili. She thought of her as a very useless woman. Even though she had succeed to leave Amsterdam's apartment before he could assault her any longer, but she considered herself that she had been used. She felt so stupid for not performing background check on Amsterdam before she decided to stay with him. Who would ever know that behind those sincere smiles and friendly gesture, a hidden monster was waiting to be unleashed?

She ran and ran until she arrived in front of a house she knew the best. Drenched in water, she knocked the door. She was very tired. She did not care about her soaked dress anymore. She panted for air as she waited for someone to open the door. It took a brief moment when she finally saw a familiar face opened the door in front of her.

The next thing she knew, she was already thrown into Kili's deep and warm embrace. She could hear him sobbing and whispering, "Signy, you're back! Oh Mahal, thank You!"

This was home. Signy could feel herself smiling upon hearing Kili's soft sob and whisper. She was very weak and she felt very cold. "Yes, Kili… I'm back," she muttered her last words before finally fainted on his warm embrace.


	10. Chapter 10: The Time of Our Lives

**Chapter 10: The Time of Our Lives**

Signy opened her eyes.

She sat on a chair in a dark room. She could not see anything for it was pitch black.

She felt her hands were tied on the back of the chair. Panic started to seep down on her veins.

She tried to scream, but no sound came out from her throat. She could feel her sweat dripping from her forehead. The room was very hot and humid. After minutes of letting her eyes to get used to the darkness of the room, she still could not acknowledge where she was.

Suddenly, someone opened the door. Signy looked at it, feeling terribly scared. The next moment, she could feel something groped her inner thigh. She groaned in terror.

She knew it. That someone was Amsterdam, the nice guy who turned out to be a monster whom she lived with for the past weeks. She yelled, hoping someone would help her. She remembered that she had managed to step on Kili's front door, what happened? Was it just a dream? Did she manage to escape from Amsterdam's apartment?

Signy could feel Amsterdam sat on her lap. Her heart beat in a terribly rapid speed. She was intimidated by his hard breathing and his lips which was now kissing her neck viciously. She moaned in pain. She wanted to let go, but she remembered that her hands were tied to the chair, and she could not scream. What should she do?

She could feel Amsterdam's rough, big fingers unbuttoning her nightgown. _One… _A tear dropped from her right eye. _Two… _She could feel her spine shivered in great fear. _Three… _She could feel his hands unbuttoning her third button, and roughly caressed her chest afterwards. His lips were now kissing and biting her ear. She groaned and moaned in pain.

She felt very dirty. She realised that she could never go back to Kili's house again. No one wanted to betrothed to a woman who had been deflowered by an irresponsible man. She could portray her destiny. Probably she would be Amsterdam's slave, or a beggar on the streets of Blue Mountains. She let out a deep sigh, slowly kissed her dreams goodbye as Amsterdam devoured her more and more.

"Signy, wake up," she could hear someone whispering her name on her ear. She slowly opened her eyes and that moment she sighed in contentment because it was just a dream. She had been dressed in a clean nightgown, all dried up, and now she was lying on her bed, with Kili next to her. She smiled to see him again, as she reassured herself that this was not a dream. "Was it a nightmare, sweetheart?" he asked as he gently kissed her forehead, trying to calm her down.

Signy nodded. She was still panting for air. "What… what happened to me? Did I pass out?" ask her dumbfoundedly.

"Yes, Signy. A few hours ago, you knocked on my door and you collapsed when I hugged you. I dried your hair and dressed you the nightgown. Don't worry, I did nothing to you. And then I put you on your bed. I've been here for hours, looking out for you," he explained to her, his voice sounded worried. "Tell me, dear… where have you been? I have been worried sick about you for weeks."

Signy let out a deep sigh, and then told him the whole story. "After I foolishly left the house, I went to The Bagpipe Inn to grab some drinks. There, I met a man named Amsterdam who took me to his apartment because I got drunk. I stayed there for a few weeks, before I realised that I need to come home to you. Amsterdam didn't let me go, and he…" she stopped at her sentence, looking for a proper word to tell Kili that his girlfriend was almost raped by another man.

"He did what?" he asked her gently, but there was a slight tone of being protective. Kili pulled her closer to him as he embraced her. She drowned her head to Kili's chest. "Tell me, my dear."

She bit her lower lip as she tried to keep herself from crying. Listening to Kili's steady heartbeat and smelling his earthly, warm scent made her felt like home. Could he handle the truth? "He wanted to rape me," she breathed heavily as the first tear came out from her right eye.

Kili looked at her. "Sheesh… don't cry. I'm here. You're safe with me," she could hear Kili's voice soothing her.

"He… was so angry. I didn't know what kind of evil spirit possessed him. A few hours ago, I saw him turned into a vicious monster," she sobbed as Kili held her tighter. "I managed to escape… and I got here because I kept thinking about home. This is home. _You _are home… I'm so afraid, Kili," she kept sobbing, her heart beat faster.

Kili said nothing. He held her tight, his fingers played with her hair. He felt so sorry for her after hearing her story. A moment later, he answered her, "You're also home, Signy. You're _my _home. Without you… this house is not a home. Thank Mahal you're back." She took a peek at him and for the first time, she smiled.

"Will you still love me in the morning? Even though someone else has touched me the way you haven't?" A slight worry came to Signy's mind. It reflected in her eyes. Kili smiled and he pushed Signy's body so her face was equal to his. He stared at her lovingly; his hands casually combed her hair. He then ran his fingers to her face, slowly examining her cheek and her jaw line as he muttered under his breath, "Don't anticipate me. I will still love you in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening… I will love you tomorrow, next week, next month, next year… I will love you."

Signy and Kili snuggled on the bed for a moment. The world and the time had stopped for them. Signy no longer felt scared anymore as she felt Kili's soft fingers toyed with her hair. She could smell his earthy scent, the smell she had missed the most. Her fondness of him had grown stronger. She grasped the fact that she didn't just like him. She loved him.

"I have a great idea," Kili muttered under his breath after cupping her nose. "Close your eyes, no peeking. I'll be right back." Before she could reply him, he had already stormed off from her room. Signy sighed and did what he wanted her to do. She slowly closed her eyes, pulled the bed cover and curled up on her bed.

She felt like she had waited for a lifetime when she finally heard Kili said softly, "Open your eyes." Once she opened her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief. Kili had lit several candles in the room. "What do you have in mind?" she asked him in awe.

He smirked as he made his way back to her bed, his right hand formed a fist. "I've been thinking, Signy. I believe that I don't want to lose you anymore, not ever. Therefore," he paused as he opened his right hand, showing her four little braid clasps, "I want to have this opportunity to braid your hair."

Signy's pupils dilated. This was the moment she had been waiting for. She turned her head to Kili and sniggered. "Really?" she giggled like a school girl. Kili nodded, gazing at her lovingly. "Here, sit in front of me," he tapped an empty space in front of him. Signy moved her seating position.

"When did you realise it?" she asked him gently as he softly combed her hair using a small wooden comb.

"Realise what?"

"That you want to make me a betrothal braid," she sniggered. Luckily she was sitting in front of Kili, so he could not see her cheeks grew red. "And one more thing… this just struck me but you suddenly say the word 'love' all the time. What's going on in your head?"

"When I lost you… it all came to me. I was depressed and devastated. Fili couldn't even entertain me, even though he came to my house and treated me lunch. That's when I realised that I loved you. I mean, even though this is my first time to experience this feeling, I know this is not just a sudden infatuation or just a crush," he breathed as he began braiding her hair on the left side of her head.

Signy smiled. She was beyond glad to know that he felt the same way. She thought that she only liked him, but it was wrong. Now they were in the most intimate moment in a Dwarven courtship culture: exchanging betrothal braids. This meant they were ready to pronounce their courtship to the public and soon to be married. She sighed happily as she felt Kili's fingers slowly moved her left yoke, exposing her bare left shoulder. "_No fear,_" she thought to herself. Kili startled her because he suddenly trailed soft, small pecks from her left ear all the way down to her left shoulder. She shivered as she felt his smooth touches.

"Kili… " she murmured in anticipation. Kili interrupted her softly, "I won't do anything without your consent. Do you trust me?"

Signy nodded weakly. Being with Kili felt like magic for her. He resumed braiding her hair. They stood quiet for a few moments. It was a comfortable silence for Signy because she enjoyed this activity. A few moments later, he finished braiding her left side hair and he continued braiding a small amount of hair on the right side of her head, behind her right ear.

"Are you happy?" he whispered at her ear, his hands began braiding her hair.

"I'm not happy, I'm elated," she purred. She could feel Kili smiling at her answer. She closed her eyes as she tried to heighten her other senses. She could feel Kili's hot breath under her ear, and his gradual touch. He leisurely moved her right yoke, planting small kisses with small licks on her smooth, uncovered right shoulder. She felt butterflies inside her stomach.

"So… what's in store after this?" she tried to start a conversation with him because she was afraid things might get a little too far if Kili kept teasing her.

"After this I will present you to my uncle, ask for your hand in marriage in front of him, live together in this humble abode as husband and wife, and be merry," said Kili, excitement could be found on his voice. "Plus, we'll have cute, little baby Dwarves. You will teach them how to cook delicious foods, tell them stories about our mythology, and I will teach them how to hunt and how to be a great archer," he grinned.

"Will you allow me to work? I want to be a teacher in Thorin's Gate," she asked him.

"Sure, I'd love to have a working wife," he answered softly as he caressed her hair. "I'm done with yours. Now, please do mine." He handed her the remaining two clasps. Signy took them and examined them carefully. They were silver clasps, each with a coat of arms embossed on it.

"It's Durin's coat of arms," Kili seemed to read Signy's mind. "My mother gave these clasps to me and Fili when we reached our adulthood."

"These are so beautiful," she gazed at the clasps while playing with them. A few moments later, she turned to face her One. She pulled his body closer to her so she could grab some of his hair. She started to make a braid on the left side of her head, when Kili alarmed her by giving a warm kiss on her lips. She giggled.

"Kili, not now," she chuckled as she tried to let go of his kiss. Kili giggled. "No, you look stiff. Come on, this is your boyfriend. Don't be shy," he whispered as he pressed his lips even further. Signy slowly released her fears and her stiffness as she began to kiss him back. The instant warmth seemed to find its' way home.

A few minutes later, he let go. "Now you can braid my hair," he casted his signature sheepish grin. Signy's favourite grin. She smiled and started braiding Kili's hair.

"I want to see your parents. Can we go to your village someday?" he asked her while she was busy concentrating on braiding his hair because his hair was very fuzzy.

"Yeah, we will. You need to ask them permission to marry me," she answered, still focusing on his hair. "For Mahal's sake, your hair is really fuzzy and messy!"

He cackled upon hearing her protest. "What are they like?" he asked her again.

"Who? My parents?" He nodded.

"Well, my dad runs an inn in our village. It's not much, but it's the most popular inn in the whole town. My mother is a housewife. Sometimes he helps my father to cook for the inn. They are very lovely, though sometimes overprotective. But I don't blame them, because I guess that's what parents do. Don't worry, I'm sure they will welcome you to the family," she ended her words as she finished the first braid.

As she transitioned her hands to braid Kili's hair on the other side of his head, he startled her by slowly pushing her to lie down on the bed, with him on top of her. She gasped and closed both of her eyes. Another strike of fear hit her. "Kili, not now," she opened her eyes and looked at Kili with a stern gaze.

"I know, silly," he giggled coyly as he cupped her nose. "Relax. You trust me, don't you?" he looked back at him with a gaze as if he begged her to believe in him.

"Yes, I do," she answered him softly, "But I need to braid your hair right now. So please, can you resume sitting down so I can finish my job?" Kili surrendered and got up. Signy continued braiding his hair. They stood in a very comfortable silence. She ran her hand through his hair in a very delicate manner, as if they were fragile potteries.

"It's done," she said softly, her hand clasped on the last clasp to the end of the braid. Kili grinned and hugged her very close. She could feel his heart beating faster and his warm breath as he placed his head on her shoulder.

She was drowned into pure bliss. Images of her being happy with Kili played through her mind like a play. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I love you," those three words went out smoothly from Kili's mouth. Signy beamed as she responded him, "The feeling is mutual, dear."

oOoOoOo

**FINALLY, I'm done with the chapter! It takes me about 2 weeks to write this one because I am so busy with work and I have no time to imagine the scenes. Don't forget to read and review! Thanks a lot!**


	11. Chapter 11: For Every Good News

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm terribly sorry for not updating for a long time, because I got caught up with work… Luckily I have the whole weekend to myself, thus enabling me to write more! I'm forever thankful for your support by clicking this story to your favorite or follow list, or just simply reading and reviewing it! I present you the 11****th**** chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11: For Every Good News, A Bad News Will Follow**

Before they could realize it, it was nearly the end of summer for the residents of Ered Luin. The weather got colder, as the wind blew stronger than before and leaves turned their colors to orange hues. Everybody had stocked more fried vegetables and kept their summer apparels back in their cupboards, for the weather had demanded them to wear warmer clothes. Everybody in the town did that, including Thorin Oakenshield.

Thorin was silently putting his loose tunics and cotton shorts to his trunk, placing thick jackets and wool sweaters inside his wooden cupboard when he heard someone knocking his bedroom door. The knocking was loud and rushed, as if someone was in a rush to tell him something.

"Come in," he shouted at the door. It was Ori. He walked inside Thorin's room, his hands were shivering. There was a slight hint of excitement and nervousness in his eyes.

"What is it, Ori?" he stopped arranging his clothes and walked towards one of his fellow companion.

"Oin has read it."

"Read what?"

"The portents."

Thorin froze. His eyes casted a stern gaze upon Ori. Is it possible? After all these years?

oOoOoOo

It was a breezy afternoon. Signy was casually lounging on the sofa, reading a self-help book. Her attention was very focused on her book, so focused until she could not realize that Kili had been staring at her for a few minutes. Her attention flew away from the book when she felt a familiar lips pecked her on her cheek.

Signy closed her book, put them aside, and shifted her eyes to Kili who was pouting at her. "I feel neglected," he said, still with sheepish pout on his lips. Signy chuckled and she circled her hands around his neck. "I was reading a book, dear!"

"What are you doing this afternoon?" he asked her, his dark eyes lingered upon her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's getting chilly outside, so I don't fancy to do anything outdoor. Why? What do you have in mind?"

Kili grinned. "How about we visit Uncle Thorin? Remember what I said a few months ago, that I will ask for your hand in marriage in front of him? I want to do that soon." He winked.

Signy chuckled. "Oh, that one," she grinned. "Alright, I think we should go there soon. I'm going to get my coat. You should, too. Autumn is coming, dear." With that being said, they stood up from the sofa and bounced towards their own rooms respectively.

oOoOoOo

Fili walked fast to his uncle's throne room. Word had traveled fast in Thorin's Gate, that Oin had seen the portents. As soon as Fili heard it, he wanted to ask his uncle if the words were true.

"Uncle, is that true?" he shouted as he entered the throne room.

"What do you mean?" Thorin asked him, his face looked puzzled.

"The portents. The words has spread throughout Thorin's Gate. Is it true, Uncle? Is it true that Oin has read the portents?" Fili asked his uncle impatiently. There was a glimpse of excitement in his eyes, The excitement that he would see Erebor soon.

Thorin Oakenshield sighed heavily and gave Fili a small nod. "Yes, the words are true, Fili. I have arranged a trip to Iron Hills to seek help from Dain, as well as gathered some of the finest Dwarves for our quest to Erebor. Oin, Gloin, Ori, Nori, Dori, Dwalin, Bofur, Bombur, Bifur and Balin have agreed to go with us to reclaim our homeland."

"What do you mean… us?" Fili asked Thorin slowly. He began to feel unsure of his ability.

"Us, Fili. You, me, and Kili! Who else will it be?" Thorin's face and voice grew impatient. "For all of your life, I have prepared you and your brother for this quest. We will reclaim our homeland from Smaug the Terrible. Do you want to see the gleaming faces of our kind once we go back to Erebor? Do you want to be considered as the hero? Do you, from all of your deepest wishes, have the desire to see Erebor; our motherland, our soil, our everything?" He walked aggressively towards Fili and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't let your uncle down, Fili."

Fili swallowed his saliva. "Well… Alright. I am coming with you for the quest, Uncle."

"What are you waiting for?" Thorin's voice roared through the halls of the throne room. "Go get your brother! You need to depart as fast as you can!"

Before Fili could answer his uncle, suddenly someone opened the door to the throne room. Kili and Signy, walking hand in hand, bounced confidently towards Thorin and Fili.

"No need to call me, brother. I have arrived. And I have a great news to tell you," Kili boasted with pride, his eyes swifted, looking at Signy with such loving smile. "Uncle Thorin, today Signy and I decided to visit you because… We're getting married."

**Oops, another cliffhanger! I'm sorry if this chapter is a short one, because I intend it to be. Until next time!**


	12. Chapter 12: For Every Good News (part 2)

**Disclaimer: I only own Signy and other minor OC characters. Kili, Fili and the gang belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.**

**Chapter 12: For Every Good News, A Bad News Will Follow (part 2)**

"_We're getting married."_

Thorin could do nothing but to freeze in his exact position. He wanted to speak, but he lost control of his tongue. The three words that Kili had just said felt like an arrow struck to his heart. For all the good times in this world, why should they decide to get married on such short notice? Moreover, why should they declare their plans just before Thorin was just about to tell Kili that he should go with Fili for the quest that would change their entire life?

Thorin slowly shifted his gaze to Fili, who looked as if he had just seen a ghost. His face grew pale, and he could not hide his shocked expression. A few minutes later, he finally broke the silence. "Congratulations, brother."

It was not a jolly, exciting congratulation. Thorin and Fili felt like something heavy kept them from walking towards Kili and Signy. Neither of them jumped with joy nor shook Kili's and Signy's hands with excitement. It was a dark and grim one. "What's going on here? Uncle Thorin, Fili, are you all right? I know this may seem too sudden, but Signy and I exchanged betrothal braids two weeks ago. We both realize that we love each other, and want to spend our lives together. I don't want to lose her anymore. Therefore, I ask you for your blessings." Kili lumbered towards Thorin, and once he got closer to him, he knelt on his knee. "Please, Uncle. I have never asked you for great things, but for this once, please give me your blessings." He shifted his gaze to his brother while still on his knees, "You too, Fili. My older brother, another part of me, please give me your blessing to marry the most amazing and the most beautiful girl I have set my eyes on."

After a few minutes of silence, finally Thorin broke it. He told Kili to stand up, and he said heavily, "There's something I need to speak to you about…" He shifted his gaze to Signy, who was still standing in her first position. Her face showed a great amount of fear and uncertainty. "I think you should escort your girlfriend out from the throne room before we discuss the thing I want to talk to you about."

"She's not just my girlfriend, she's my _fiance_," Kili muttered under his breath, his voice sounded firm. "And you can tell whatever you want to tell to me in front of her, for she will be a part of our family soon."

Kili turned his back, telling Signy to motion towards him. She treaded towards Kili and stood beside him, facing Fili.

Thorin cleared his throat. He was happy to hear about the news, and he wanted to bless his nephew more than anything, but the quest was more important. _Marriage can wait, _he thought to himself. "Kili… Oin has seen the portents, and the portents say it is time. Do you remember the portents about how the reign of Smaug the Terrible over Erebor will end? _'When the birds of old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end'_, that's what the portents said. Ravens have been said to fly over Erebor. This is _our _time, Kili, our time to reclaim what we have been fighting for all these years. Do you still have the desire to see our homeland, the land you have been dreaming of?"

Kili gulped. Erebor, the land where his mother was born. Erebor, the land that has filled his dream ever since he was a youngling. Erebor, the heart of Blue Mountains' dwarves. His bloodline, his origins, his family history. On the other hand, he had Signy. The girl who had turned his world upside down with her personality. He held Signy's hand firmly as he thought over Erebor and living with her. "Uncle… are you serious?" he asked his uncle with a low tone.

Thorin did nothing but nodded his head slowly.

"Kili, I am terribly sorry… But I need you. _We _need you to help us reclaiming Erebor. Therefore, I postpone my blessings for you both to marry. You can marry Signy after we have moved to Erebor."

Kili could not believe what he had just heard. Suddenly he felt weak on his knees. "No, Uncle, no way," he tried to compromise with him. "I love Signy more than anything. If this would be the last thing I could ask from you, please let this be it. I cannot wait until we've moved to Erebor. I have lost Signy once, and I don't want it to happen anymore," he pleaded.

"When will we depart, Uncle?" asked Fili.

"Soon," was the only answer Thorin could give to them. They fell to uncomfortable silence.

Signy felt like she had been silent for awhile. She wanted to assure Thorin that this was what she wanted too. "Master Thorin, I beg you," she suddenly knelt in front of him. "This is not just Kili's intention, it's _our _intention. If you understand the concept of love, you will understand our importance to inform you such great news. Please, Master Thorin, give us a chance."

There was nothing that Thorin could do but to stare at Signy, who was still begging him on her knees. Her voice was shaking, and he realized she was holding back her tears while begging for him to bless her and his nephew. Thorin asked Signy to stand up. She stood up, and Kili held her. "You'll be fine," she could hear Kili whispered on her ear. "He will bless us. We'll get married soon."

"Uncle Thorin, I think I have a solution for this problem," Fili spoke in such diplomatic way. "Kili, Signy, maybe you should stay for awhile to listen to the solution."

"Fire away, brother," Kili responded Fili weakly.

"With all due respect, Uncle, I know Kili and Signy. I had been there even before they decided to be together. I know their ups and downs, therefore I give my blessings to Kili and Signy to proceed with their wedding plans. Truthfully, I have seen people being in love, yet I have never seen a love so pure as what they have in each other.

However, the Erebor quest is also important for us. This is our one and only chance to claim what we used to have from the evil beast that has claimed our city for many years. Personally, I have been living under the dream that someday I will bring back the glory days of Erebor, and now the gates have been opened for us to claim our homeland back.

Weighing on these options, I propose an idea that will not only give us a chance to bring back our old glory days in Erebor, but also to give Kili and Signy the chance to be together as husband and wife for a few days before the quest. Uncle Thorin, you said that we would depart soon, didn't you? Well… How about if we give permission to Signy and Kili to get married before our departure day? Say, if we depart a month later, the wedding can be held two weeks from now. Am I correct, or what?" Fili ended his long speech.

Kili gleamed with happiness and hugged his brother. "You're the best! I know you will make a very noble king! Uncle Thorin, please consider Fili's suggestion. It is a good one. Even though I only get to spend a few days with Signy before leaving for Erebor, I'll take my chances."

Signy sighed a content sigh and hugged Fili as well. "Fili, thank you so much for thinking clearly!"

Thorin did not move. He mulled over Fili's suggestion in his head. He knew that Fili had a point. He realized that he had never become a father figure Kili needed him to be because he was too strict and too ambitious on becoming a good king for his kind. Giving him his blessing to marry the love of his life would be the last thing he could have ever done to show him that he loved him.

He sighed. "Kili, I'm very sorry for not being a good father figure, not even a good uncle for you. I have never experienced love before, and if I have, surely it's not as strong as the love you have for Signy. After considering Fili's suggestion, I think he's right. You should have your wedding before we depart for Erebor. However, you should make haste, for we will depart in no time. Signy, go write a letter to your parents, inform them about this good news and invite them to stay in my abode. Fili, send as many invitations to every resident of Blue Mountains. Spread the news to every Dwarves, Men and Elves. I want this wedding to be as grand as possible."

Kili and Signy could not believe their ears. They exchanged looks before embracing each other. A second later, Signy released herself from Kili's arms and hugged Thorin out of nowhere.

"Master Thorin, thank you very much. Words cannot express my gratitude towards you," she breathed while hugging him very tight. Thorin looked shocked, but a few seconds later he patted her on the shoulder and replied, "This is the least I can do, lass. Welcome to the family, Signy."

They stayed in that position for awhile; Signy hugging Thorin, Thorin patted her on the shoulder, Kili and Fili had a brotherly hug. All was well.

**A continuation of the previous chapter. Stick around to see how grand Kili's and Signy's wedding is! Will there be a plot twist? Don't forget to read and review! Thank you so much!**


	13. Chapter 13: We're All Right

**Disclaimer: As usual, I only own my OCs. Kili, Fili, Thorin and the rest of the gang belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.**

**Chapter 13: We're All Right**

**You are cordially invited to Kili's and Signy's Wedding!**

**Set the date: First night of full moon, 6 PM onwards**

**Place: Main Ballroom, Thorin's Gate**

**There will be music, dances, fun, and food! Eat, dance, have fun, and be merry!**

oOoOoOo

There were so many commotions in Signy's room. She was surrounded by half a dozen of dwarrow-maids, each of them doing their assigned tasks. One of them combed Signy's hair, another was helping her with her gown, another one was picking which shoes match her gown, one dwarrow-maid was putting some make-up on Signy's face. She sighed with a stressed look on her face. She had never thought that weddings would be so overwhelming.

She gasped as she fell out of air. One of the dwarrow-maids, the one who was assigned to take care of Signy and her wedding dress, tied the corset lace very tight, so it made her unable to breathe easily. "Brynja, can you please loosen the knots? I'm gasping for air," she protested to the maid while gasping for air.

"Sorry, miss Signy!" Brynja, one of the dwarrow-maids, apologized while her hands loosen the knots of Signy's dress. Signy muttered a simple thank you to her, and she let herself being spoiled by these dwarrow-maids.

She could not believe it was the day of her marriage. For the past week, she had moved to one of the rooms in Thorin's Gate. The Dwarven culture prohibited a couple to see each other a week before their wedding day because the bride should attend several makeover sessions. It was also said that the bride should look pure and be pure once they met the groom. Seven days had passed, and now Signy was looking at her wedding day.

Signy was paying close attention to one of the dwarrow-maids who styled her hair when she heard her door being opened. She shifted her glance to the door. It was her mother.

She ran to the door and once they met face to face, she hugged her. She missed her so much. Her hug felt very soft and very warm. "Mother! I'm so glad you come!" she shrieked as they let go after a few minutes.

"Wow, Signy… You look different, and you look very beautiful," her mother spoke to her in awe. She looked at her daughter in disbelief. "You even dyed your hair, sweetheart!" she added.

Signy chuckled. "It's the newest trend in the city, mother. I'm so glad to see you. I thought you didn't receive my invitation and my personal letter. Is Father here?"

Her mother nodded. "Yes, he's here. He's having a pep talk with Kili as we speak. They estrange you from him for a week, don't they?"

"Yeah," she answered bluntly. "I miss him. I've never thought that I should be _this _estranged. Have you met Kili? What do you think of him?" Somehow, she was kinda afraid that her mother would disapprove of her choice.

Signy's mother noticed the insecure look in her daughter's eyes. She pulled Signy in another warm embrace and replied her softly, "Don't worry, dear. Your father and I have met him and we have seen that he is a very nice lad, just like how you pictured him in your letter. I can see that his love to you is very pure. You're a lucky girl, Signy, because these types of men barely exist in real world nowadays."

Signy grinned happily. After saying goodbye, Brynja walked towards her to ask her to get back to the dwarrow-maids because she was far from over. "This is going to be a long, tiring day," she muttered to Brynja who grinned to answer her complaint.

oOoOoOo

"Are you enjoying this, my dear?" Signy heard Kili whispered to her ears. She smiled and nodded. They were sitting on two big carved chair made out of Blue Mountains' finest woods. Besides them, there were Fili, Thorin Oakenshield, and both of Signy's parents. They looked very satisfied and their eyes were wandering on the party guests in front of them.

"Are you tired? We can always rest anytime you want to," Kili asked her attentively. Signy shook her head and smiled towards her husband. "Nope, I'm enjoying the view."

Yes, she was enjoying the view, but Kili did not know what happened inside her head. She was actually recalling the events from a few hours ago, when they were officially blessed by Thorin Oakenshield as husband and wife.

_A few hours ago…_

Signy felt an immense fear as she was treading on the tiles of Thorin's Ballroom. She understood that she was wearing a very beautiful broken white wedding gown, and her hair was perfectly made to a very sophisticated up do, but she was very nervous. Never had she felt something this way. She glanced on her surroundings. There were so many people flooding the ballroom, and their gazes were casted upon her. She could see her parents standing beside Thorin Oakenshield, who was waiting for her on the throne. In front of Thorin, stood Kili, his eyes were flickering to see her. She had never seen Kili looked at her in such a way. His look somehow showed his excitement, nerve, and contentment, all mixed into one feeling.

Finally, Signy arrived at her place. She was standing in line with Kili, facing Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin stood up from his throne and walked towards them.

"Kili, Signy, today you are united to one under Mahal's eyes and Mahal's blessing. He is the One who destined both of you to meet and He is the One who allows you to share a very pure and great love," Thorin's voice roared throughout the room. The party guests soon replied in unison, "Blessed is Mahal, for everything shall be made under His watch."

The ceremony continued by Kili and Signy exchanging wedding vows. This was the part Signy hated the most. She had written her vows a few days before the wedding, but without a reason they always ended up in the trashcan because she felt she could never write a good enough vow. As what she had learned from the dwarrow-maids, a wedding vow should be beautiful, sincere, and tear-jerking. Knowing that she could never produce such vow (because she could not express her feeling), she decided to stop writing wedding vows and planned to do an impromptu version of wedding vows. Kili, on the other hand, had prepared a wedding vow. He took a small paper from the inside of his thick black coat, and started reading:

"Every Dwarf should know and should feel that a Dwarf can only love once. I am glad that I have met you, and to experience a very wonderful feeling called being in love with you. Signy, today we are officially betrothed to each other. I offer you no more than my life. I will protect you, love you, and accept you just the way you are. I will be your best friend, your lover, the one you can rely onto, the one you can share your happiness and your burden with. During our togetherness, there will be tribulations, but I promise you that I will do my best to work them out. We can work them out together."

Kili's wedding vows ended with several people clapping their hands. Some of them had happy tears on their eyes. Signy gulped. It was a very beautiful vow, and Signy was unsure that she could outrank it. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, her mind raced so hard to create a wedding vow. A few moments later, she sighed and replied Kili with a very simple wedding vow that her brain could produce:

"Kili, I love you. I promise you that I will never leave you under any circumstances. I'm sorry that I might look like I desert you, but you know more than anything that I will always need you in my life. I will accompany you in your laughter and in your sadness, and I will love you in every aspect of your life."

Her short vow ended. She was shocked to see her brain's ability, that it could produce an impromptu wedding vow. Kili smiled lightly after hearing her vow. He mouthed, "I love you." She replied him by mouthing the same words while trying to hide her blush.

"And now, to end this wedding ceremony, I shall pronounce you husband and wife," again, Thorin's voice filled the room, along with the sound of people clapping their hands. A moment later, a few dwarrow-maids came towards Signy and Kili with a bucket of pink flower petals. They showered them with the flower petals. Signy laughed. It was very beautiful and she felt like she was in a dream.

"Kili, am I dreaming?" she said loudly to him, because she was afraid Kili could not listen to her. The hall was very noisy with people clapping hands and shouting their blessings in Khuzdul.

Kili sniggered as he pulled Signy closer to him. "My lady, you're not dreaming. Do you want something to proof it?" She giggled. "Yeah, show me!"

Her breath stopped when Kili kissed her with all his might. She was not dreaming. If she were, she would have woken up by then.

oOoOoOo

Signy sat nervously on the edge of the bed. She had changed into her sleeping robe. Behind her, she could hear people still cheering and music playing. A few moments later, Kili shut the door. She looked up, stared at the wooden ceiling with a blank expression. Silence fell between them. She shivered although the windows were closed.

"Are you tired?" Kili sat beside her, looking at her attentively.

"Nope," Signy forced a smile. The fear struck her again. _"Come on, Signy. He's your husband now. Why should you be afraid?"_ she thought to herself. "How about you? I notice you didn't drink a lot of ale in the party. What's going on?"

"Well… I don't want to be drunk on my first night with my wife, that's for sure!" Kili replied with a grin. They both chuckled upon hearing his silly answer.

"Are you happy?" Kili asked her again, pulling himself closer to her, his hand slowly caressing her cheek.

Signy nodded, casually pulling a smile. "Are you?"

"Elated," he sniggered. She could hear Kili's fastened heartbeat, it raced with hers. Kili's soft fingers traced her jawline as he pressed his lips to her neck. Signy closed her eyes. She tried to breathe normally. _"Inhale, exhale, everything is going to be fine."_

Kili's finger stopped at her chin. He stared at her with his deep eyes. "Are you afraid?" he asked her, concerned.

Signy gulped. "Actually, yes," she answered him heavily as she shifted her look somewhere else. She was afraid that Kili would be mad at him for being afraid for the umpteenth time. "But I feel a hint of excitement. This is weird… I feel scared, but I'm excited."

Kili scoffed. "I'm afraid too, Signy," he shifted her face so that he could stare at her eyes again. "As I promised you earlier, I won't do anything if you don't want to. We can just go straight to bed tonight – "

Kili's nervous voice somehow made Signy a little bit braver. Her hands cupped Kili's face as she pulled him closer, engaged him in a long, soft kiss. She felt the time had stopped just for them. "No, I don't want to go straight to bed tonight," said Signy as she panted for air. She looked directly to Kili's soft, big brown eyes and she continued, "I realize something. As your… ahem, wife, I want to please you right from the very beginning. I want to make you happy. So, yeah… I have decided that I don't want to go straight to bed, because I know you don't want to." She added a playful wink in the end.

Kili chuckled. "You are too sweet, you know that?" he planted another kiss on her neck as he pushed her slowly to the bed. They laughed and kissed for some more. Signy enjoyed how Kili's strong fingers were touching her skin, making her felt safe and loved. She shivered when Kili shifted his lips to her neck and her clavicles.

"Signy… are you sure?" Kili looked at her with a look that seemed to be asking her for consent. They were already in bed, Kili was sitting on top of her.

She smiled. The timing was perfect. This was perfect. She could hear her own relaxed heartbeat. She felt dauntless. He was everything she wanted. "Yes," she answered him with a big smile of contentment.


End file.
